Rise to Power: Queen of Corona
by Skyrimfan
Summary: Events transpired which led to Lucinda Magwin's adoption into the royal family of the Kingdom of Corona, away from friends for the past three years of her life and recovering from a near death experience, she was finally reunited with the boy of her dreams. Prince James of Enchancia. Together, with Princess Sofia and her boyfriend, Prince Desmond, they will rise to absolute power.
1. Rescued

**Chapter One**

 **Rescued**

Three years ago, Lucinda was living happily with her mother Marla in the village of Dunwiddie in the Kingdom of Enchancia until her mother was offered a job as the royal sorceress of Corona by her oldest and childhood friend, Erik Fitzherbert, the heir to the Coronian throne. Her mother was quite pleased with the offer and decided to move to the castle, however, Lucinda was not happy with her mother's decision to move since she would be away from all her newfound friends. When the news reached the ears of Princess Sofia, she threw a small farewell party in honor of her friend which was attended by her friends from both royalty and common folk. Prince James of Enchancia gave her a necklace which he took from the castle's royal vault to remember him by, Lucinda accepted the gift and swore to wear it always. Upon arrival in the Kingdom of Corona, Lucinda along with her mother were warmly greeted by the aging King Eugene Fitzherbert and his beloved wife for forty-five years, the legendary Rapunzel herself, they were treated like family and Lucinda noticed the jovial look on the crown prince's face when he held Marla's hand. Despite all the new things that came with her new life in Corona, she still missed her first home in Enchancia and her mother made a promise that they would return for a visit.

However, that did not come to pass as her mother died when an 'illness' took her six months later. Erik strictly ordered the various servants and guards of the castle not to utter out the true reason behind Marla's death, he did not want Lucinda to be brought into a conflict that she didn't even understand at her age, thus, stating that Marla died of an illness was a much better cover up than saying that she was actually poisoned by the darkest spell ever known to Man.

Lucinda was grief-stricken when the news came about her mother's death that she ran away from Corona and took a ship to its neighboring Kingdom. The Kingdom of the Southern Isles, which was currently recovering from a civil war that ensured between eleven brothers against one, the war came to an end when the mighty armada of ships from Arendelle and Corona smashed the Southern navy, and knights from all around the Tri-Kingdoms storming the city itself and ensuring the victory for the youngest brother. But the young King did not live to rule his Kingdom for long as he was killed shortly after in a battle against the once mighty Northern Isles which was defeated by the Kingdom of Corona after the proud Southern Isles fell to shambles.

She decided to settle down in one of the villages, at first the people took her and accepted her into their community after hearing her tale, but when a hostile group of witches led by the supposed dead witch, Muriel, attacked the village, they turned against her. The governor of the town ordered for her arrest and put her on trial for witchcraft, which normally would end with the sentence of death no matter how old the accused was, she was betrayed by her neighbors when the soldiers came. As she sat in her cell, she stared up at the ceiling and silently wished that Sofia and her friends were lucky enough not to see her in this state, little did she know that her tale was about to spread like wildfire across the continent. It was no secret that the relationship between Corona and the Southern Isles was deteriorating ever since the Northern Isles killed their King and destroyed at least two third of their once mighty army. During the first night of her wrongful imprisonment, Lucinda overheard that a massive Coronain fleet was sighted sailing into the bay, exactly a two hour ride from the village.

 _'So this is how it is huh...'_ Lucinda thought to herself. _'Betrayed by those whom you thought were kind. I should have stayed in Corona...'_ She cried herself to sleep.

For three consecutive days, she was locked in a cell and fed with only stale bread and water. Almost every single day, the guards would interrogate her about knowledge of the attack which she would deny as she really had no part in it, the guards response were not that kind and her screams and cries could be heard from the outside. And after draining most of her stamina away, the guards would throw her back into her cell. On the third day, she heard them saying that the wizard council have arrived to give out her sentence, and she waited for the doors to open. Two guards stepped in. She stood up and glared at them defiantly. The next thing she knew was being paraded throughout the streets, and then up the steps into a building, a group of villagers gathered outside and hurled insults as she passed, most were the kind faces that greeted her warmly when she first arrived. She was then forced into a hall with two guards beside her; shackles were around her slender wrists like those of a common criminal. Her clothes were reduced to a torn and tattered prisoner's clothing, yet the necklace that James gave her remained as the guards believed that it contained the darkest of magic and refused to even touch it. She held her head high as she passed by those villagers that she once called her friends, some started to jeer and spat out curses, some even threw rocks but the soldiers yelled at them to stop.

She was led into a hall where the wizard council stood, the guards halted and so did she, the council consisted of six elderly men, they were tall and their gray hairs were signs of those who have studied and learned magic for years. Her former friends sat in seats around her. One of the wizards came forward; he looked her in the eyes and sighed. Then he spoke.

"Do you know why you have been brought here child?"

She knew, and was angry that he would _dare_ ask such a question, but still she nodded her head.

"So you know and understand why the people turned against you..." A second wizard inquired.

"Yes...I do." Lucinda turned her head and looked at the villagers in disgust. "Just because they knew that I used to be a witch...but I am no longer one! I gave witchcraft up a long time ago! Haven't you all forgotten the things I've done for the community? The cat I saved? The burning farm? Are you all just blinded for revenge that you failed to see the truth!" She growled, her eyes blazing bright with fury. The guards behind her, grabbed her arms with much force that she winced in pain and stopped her outburst, but her glare remained plastered to her face.

"Silence!" A third wizard exclaimed. "You do not have the right to speak."

"We are sworn to protect the community with magic, not threaten them with dark arts, and your mother practiced the dark arts." The first wizard explained tiredly. "Do you have anything to say in your defense, before we give out your sentence?" He asked slowly.

Lucinda wisely chose to remain quiet and only shook her head.

"Then due to overwhelming evidence, we of the wizard council proclaim you guilty of witchcraft, you will be taken to the town square to be burned alive for your deadly sins." The second wizard announced, and with a wave of his hand, the guards complied, grabbing her roughly by the arms and leading her out of the room.

She didn't protest nor retaliate. Her mother was dead and the people she had come to know have betrayed her, in her heart boiled anger and rage but outside she was frightened, and that was the two reasons why she chose to go quietly. She was only a girl barely in her teens living a peaceful and content life in the village, trying her best to help the small community until Muriel came along and screwed things up. As she was being led up the scaffold, she caught a glimpse of several horsemen watching her from a distance before disappearing into the forest, she watched as flocks of birds flew out of the trees in fright. Since being a witch, she could understand animals, especially those with feathers. Something within the dense forest must have spooked the birds that they flew in such a hurry. As a herald was reading out her sentence to the crowd, she studied the trees and the flight patterns, her ears drowned out all other noise but the rustling of the trees and within the forest, she heard a rumble.

Something was coming, but what.

Among the crowds that were surrounding her, Lucinda took notice of two witch-hunters whom her mother had made friends with; their names were Hansel and Gretel. The twin siblings were well known around the Kingdoms for hunting down any witch that practiced the dark arts of necromancy, but they were also close allies with any witch that didn't stray from the light. The two were watching the guards' movements and were observing her from a distance, but the looks they gave her were neither disgust nor anger but were sympathy and hope. She nodded towards them. She frowned at the guard lifting up a torch as the crowd cheered and chanted for her to burn like all foul witches, but amidst the commotion happening all around her, she spotted movements along the rooftops and her eyes widened.

Before the guard could actually lit the stake on fire, Gretel fired a spell into the sky and a fast swirling arrow pierced the neck of a guard carrying the torch, spilling blood all over the scaffold. Lucinda glanced from left to right as the figures stood up and continued raining arrows towards the other guards stationed around the scaffold, Hansel and Gretel then revealed themselves and started to attack the confused guards, and then out of nowhere she heard the sounds of horses galloping and loud battle cries. The horsemen she saw earlier were merely scouts for the main force which had just arrived, she turned to find knights on horseback charging into the village with their weapons drawn, she watched as the knights cut down those who stood in their way as flaming arrows rained from the sky, striking their targets with deadly accuracy. A small flicker of hope burned inside her heart. The Kingdom of Corona was here; and they were hell bent on making her captors pay with their lives.

"Coronains!" A guard cried before his head was separated from his shoulders by a Coronain knight.

Lucinda looked to the front and saw more knights coming from the other side as well; another guard whom she recognized as the one that tortured her was struck in the neck by an arrow, she watched as he fell to the ground gurgling and twitching until the light finally left his eyes. Screams and the clashing of steel against steel could be heard all around, horses neighing as their riders pulled on the reins, and the smell of death was becoming much more evident in the air. The Coronian knights and soldiers showed no mercy to the villagers as well, an elderly man whom she remembered hurling insults was surrounded on all sides by soldiers with spears advancing upon him, Lucinda quickly turned her eyes away from the gruesome scene. Arrows rained almost everywhere, one managed to lodge itself just an inch above her hair, she started to panic but could not move an inch due to the fact that she was tied up to the stake, she didn't have to wait long as the knights that were attacking ran up the scaffold and sliced the robes binding her in place. One of the knights checked her for injuries while another asked questions.

"What's your name?"

"Lu...Lucinda.." She replied, still shaken by the sudden attack.

"And what is your mother's name?"

"Marla Magwin..."

"It's her alright." The knight said, turning to the others. "Go find the King!"

Hansel approached her and smiled warmly. "Hey, hey, kid. You remember me? Nod your head if you do." He ordered. She managed to bop her head up and down as she was still a little traumatized by the arrow that narrowly missed her head. "Someone pass her something to keep her warm. It's freezing out here!" He barked, and one of the knights ripped off his cloak and handed it over. "Here...it'll keep you warm from the cold." He said, wrapping the cloak around her shoulders.

She smiled at her savior. "Tha...thank you.."

"Don't thank us." Gretel said, with a crossbow in her hands. She jerked her thumb towards a man riding on a white horse. "Thank the current King of Corona. He came looking for us the moment he heard you were arrested, when we heard your name we didn't hesitate to travel down here. Your mother was our closest ally and a good friend. We promised to keep a close eye on you after her untimely death." Lucinda looked confused at the word 'current', which Gretel noticed and a solemn expression formed on her face. "King Eugene and Queen Rapunzel have left us for the next world. Erik is now the King."

Just as Gretel finished speaking, King Erik of Corona rode up and dismounted from his horse. It was the first time, Lucinda had seen Erik up close and personal, it's true that she had seen him from afar and almost every single night with her mother but never this close. She had heard tales from travelling merchants about his bravery on the field of battle; his courage in the face of danger and his amazing negotiation skills. Word is that Erik places his family before his honor, and if it meant butchering an entire populace to keep his family safe, then he would see it done. Her mother had also told her countless stories about his love for magic and how he would demand a magic show to be displayed before going to bed when he was a young boy. She guessed that he was in his mid-forties but his true youth was masked behind the studded beard that he had chosen to grow after he won his first battle. He knelt down to Lucinda's height and brushed a few stray but grateful tears that rolled down her cheeks.

"Did they hurt you?" He asked, his voice was firm and strong.

Lucinda nodded her head slowly, she weakly lifted her arm and several gasp of horror were heard all around. She could see the fury in the King's eyes but it was gone within a few seconds, the darkness across Hansel's face was the one that made her frightened. Several men around her whom she believed were the King's generals and commanders grumbled and growled at the thought of her treatment, a few foul languages could be heard from those men. Gretel on the other hand was seething with rage, she could see through the ragged prisoner clothing that Lucinda wore, she could see the bruises and scars that the girl recieved during her imprisonment. By now, the battle raging around the village had died down and the Southern guards had been decimated completely, the villagers likewise had not been spared the sword. Under normal circumstances, she would have begged the Coronains to spare the villagers, but she wasn't feeling _that_ merciful today, she wanted nothing but retribution to those that caused her pain. The torture she suffered in the prison would remain at the core of her mind, and it'll take some time for her to fully recover.

Erik looked at her and smiled sadly. "My name is Erik Fitzherbert, you may have heard of me from your mother or seen me with her. Your mother was a close friend of mine, a very good friend...you see, and I loved her, despite her being a witch and all...and when I heard that you were arrested in the Southern Isles, I had to come...and for the love I bore your mother..." He said softly, fighting with his inner self not to shed a tear in front of a young girl."...do you want to become my daughter and live in the castle with me? You'll be a princess then, a member of royalty-?!"

Lucinda didn't bother to hear him talk and launched her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly while crying onto his shoulders, the various knights and the two witch hunters smiled warmly at the touching scene. "Dry your tears little one...it's over...you're safe now." Erik whispered, and the young girl sniffed and complied. Then, a group of knights and soldiers approached with three members of the wizard council, they halted right in front of their King and forced the three wizards to their knees, swords and lances were at their backs in case they tried to run. "Why are there only three old men? Where are the others?" Erik asked, looking at the three battered and weary old men, his hand resting on the pommel of his sword.

"Dead," A knight, most likely a member of the King's guard judging by his cloak and insignia replied. "They fought back against us when we told them to surrender; they were easily shot down and cut to pieces. Sir Ralof has their severed heads should you wish to see them."

"No need for that..." Erik said, he then turned to the remaining three. "What shall I do with the three of you? You accused an innocent girl of a crime she didn't commit, did you start investigations? Did you interrogate the residents? Did you find out what really happened before you give out judgment? No! You did none of those sorts, and yet you claim that the wizard council was designed to keep the peace..." He approached one of the wizards. "Peace...here is your peace!" He grabbed him by the collar and started punching his face repeatedly. The wizard screamed in pain, but Erik didn't bother and continued, "How does it feel when the odds are now turned against you?" And with that said he smacked the wizard's forehead onto the ground, smashing the skull and splattering blood all over the place.

"You...you're a monster!" One of the two wizards proclaimed.

"Monster you say?" Erik sneered, he gestured to the surrounding. Knights and soldiers with bloodied swords and spears stood glaring intently towards the wizards. "Do you not see wizard? I showed him mercy. Imagine what would happen to him if I leave him into the hands of my generals." Several of his knights snickered at the phrase. His hand went to the hilt of his sword; he unsheathed it and sliced off the wizard's arm, causing the old man to scream in agony.

"I wouldn't talk back if I were you; here is the legendary King Erik, the conqueror of the North, vanquisher of the barbarians, savior of Enchancia...and so on..." Hansel spoke. "He united the once scattered banners of Corona and led them against the invaders of his Kingdom. In case you have forgotten, the powerful Northern Isles have been brought to kneel at his feet, and the Queen of Arendelle stands at his side as his most valuable ally."

"Not only that dear brother." Gretel added with an equal smirk. "During the Northern Campaign, the northern lords called him 'The King of Beasts'."

"Thank you for the kind introduction my friends." Erik said, patting Hansel on the back and nodding at Gretel. "What are your terms, as I offer none." He asked, quickly ending the one-armed wizard's life with his sword.

"Mercy milord! I beg for mercy..." The last wizard said.

Gretel smashed a bottle of glass onto the floor. "There's your mercy. Your comrades saw to that when they decided to burn Lucinda. You'll have an easier time drinking from that glass than suing for mercy." She stated bluntly.

"Well said." Hansel smiled at his sister.

"I guess, that leaves their fates in the hands of my beloved daughter." Erik said, turning to look at Lucinda. "My men will obey to whatever you say from now on, should you choose to spare him, and he will leave this place unharmed. But if you want to kill him, I will let you choose his death." He placed his hands on her shoulders. "Just remember that you have the power over life and death, his fate is now in your hands."

Lucinda sniffed and stood to her full height. She looked at the frightened old man kneeling in front of her, for once she felt powerful but on the other she felt nothing but sympathy for the wizard. But nonetheless, vengeance for the way she was treated clouded her judgment; she looked at her step-father with fury in her eyes. "Kill him!" She cried before breaking down in tears again. She shook away the hands that tried to guide her away from the scene. A knight swiftly decapitated the last wizard. She sniffed and wiped away her tears furiously, she stood up straight and stared at the knights. Loud cries of protest were heard from the other side. Her eyes narrowed and she clenched her fists as she stared at the man responsible for her imprisonment, for her harsh treatment. She pointed a finger towards the man. "That's the governor! I want him burned alive!" As soon as she uttered out the last sentence, her eyes rolled backwards and her knees buckled, she started to fall and was immediately caught by Gretel's outstretched arm. Gretel walked down the bloodied scaffold with Lucinda resting in her arms, the knights and soldiers made a hole, allowing them to pass through unscathed.

"You heard her." Erik said, holding up a torch and tossing it to one of his guards. "Give me fire."

* * *

 ** _Three months later..._**

It has been three months since the terrible ordeal, but Lucinda was glad that it was finally over. The week after she was rescued by her father, she was crowned the Crown Princess of Corona in front of the royal delegates from Arendelle and the Northern Isles, the townspeople and the military forces, after which a ball was thrown in her honor. Before announcing her as the princess, King Erik went through all the possible details with his advisers and it was decided that they would keep the introduction small and simple. Marla Magwin, was crowned the Queen posthumously, and Erik made a royal proclamation that he would not be marrying anybody else since the love of his life was dead. Upon her return to the castle, she was greeted by a sight that would haunt her for almost her entire life, the lifeless form of the late Queen Rapunzel and her husband, Eugene lying side by side.

"I'm...I'm so sorry for running off like that." Lucinda mumbled her apologises as she stared at the peaceful face of Rapunzel. "You gave me clothes. You gave me food. You sang for me and read stories to me. And I ran away from all that..." She dried her tears and stood straight. "I promise that I will become the girl that you always wanted me to be. I'll do it for you and mother." She promised. And she was bound by her oath to see it finish no matter what obstacles that stood in her path.

Lucinda, garbed in a black dress stood alongside her step-father whom was wearing his royal regalia; with his crown and his own personal insignia. With a silent prayer, the two released the first lantern into the sky. It was soon followed by the other members of the royal court, and then the high-ranking members of the military and the foreign dignitaries in attendance, and then the citizens of the Kingdom. The night sky were litted with lanterns until they were as bright as the sun that fateful night. Laid atop a boat were the bodies of both Rapunzel and Eugene, both wrapped with the Kingdom's banner, their personal items were placed on board before the boat was pushed out into the open fjord. Erik stepped forward with a bow in hand.

"Father. I will never forget the days we spent together either in the castle's Great Hall or in the courtyard. You imparted me your skills of speech which granted me the ability to negotiate with the various Kingdoms around us, and I'll...I'll do my best to become the King that Corona deserves." Erik stated solemnly as he watched the boat drift along with the slow tide as the lanterns flew above. "And mother, you were my light in the darkness. You were there for me when I was down. You told me stories when I couldn't sleep at night. You gave the warmest of smile during the coldest of nights. The castle will always be quiet without yours and father's laugh. May the heroes of old welcome your spirits with open arms." He delivered his short eulogy. He litted his arrow on fire and drew back the bowstring as hard as he could, he lifted his aim towards the skies and released his shot. The flaming arrow soared thru the wind and struck the tip of the boat with deadly accuracy, upon contact, the boat caught up in huge flames as it continued drifting down the fjord.

"SOLDIERS SALUTE!" Came the cry from a General. As one, the knights and soldiers lifted their swords high in honor as the common folk bowed their heads in prayer.

"I'll do this Kingdom proud." Lucinda muttered softly. "I swear it."

True to her word, Lucinda quickly picked up the skills that was required of a princess and learned the proper way of addressing royals from other Kingdoms; she went on and lived among the common folk, making her loved by all she met. She learned from several guards that her step-father fought alongside King Roland the First of Enchancia and saved the King's life nine times on the field when he was merely a young prince, and the two had been close friends ever since. The friendship was then extended to Roland the Second, the current King of Enchancia and step-father to her first official friend, Sofia. But unlike other princesses around the other Kingdoms, she wore neither a dress nor a gown during her daily activities. Instead she opted for the outfit that the royal guards wore when they were not on duty, and instead of a fan, she had a sword attached to her belt. King Erik was amazed by her skills in swordsmanship; she had started training in secret and was caught by a royal guard after her wooden sword struck a suit of armor causing a loud crashing sound to resonate around the castle. Lucinda was determined to master her sword arm and Erik decided to throw in his support and agreed to let her train with the royal guards. She also agreed to her father's wishes of living up to her mother's name by honing her magic skills under the guidance of three famed fairies, she knew them as; Merryweather. Fauna. Flora. With their tutelage, her magical skills surpassed beyond their magic level that they could no longer teach her.

"We have taught you everything we know." Flora stated with a thoughtful expression.

"You have mastered even the strongest of magic ever known to us." Merryweather continued.

"And we can no longer impart anymore knowledge to you." Fauna explained.

Lucinda gazed up at them, shocked to the core. "But...but..but, without your tutelage-?!" She protested but fell silent at Flora's raised hand.

"Your skills surpassed even our magic, even if we wanted to teach you, we simply can't." Flora stated with a smile. "I'm sure you will manage." She gave a loud 'oomph' when the young witch threw herself towards her, she slowly returned the hug. "We will always remember you, Lucinda."

"And when it is time. When you are ready. You may come and join us in Royal Prep." Merryweather said. "We can use your help."

"Yes. Yes. Your help we will need." Fauna insisted much to Merryweather's annoyance.

Lucinda dried her tears as she giggled at their antics. "I'll be there." She promised. She waved happily as they faded away from view. She glanced down at her wand and her sword, a small mischievous smile formed on her face. "Let's try combining the arcane arts and sword play together."

* * *

A few months went by, and Lucinda's thirteenth birthday was drawing near and King Erik knew her daughter misses her home village of Dunwiddie, and he came up with a brilliant plan together with his best advisers, Hansel and Gretel. The two witch-hunters chose to quit hunting after the introduction of Lucinda to the royal court, but before they could decide on their next journey, Erik offered them a place in his court. And the siblings agreed after much consideration, Hansel became the Lord Commander of the royal guards, and Gretel took over as the new royal sorceress. Hansel took it upon himself to train Lucinda in the art of swordplay whilst Gretel trained her in wandless magic, a feat that not many could master easily but Lucinda was eager to learn and proved to be a better learner than others.

And of course, they were elated to help plan the present for Lucinda.

"Hansel, it's time. Go and get Lucinda."

"At once sire." Hansel replied with a grin.

The Lord Commander found his target in the royal gardens playing with her pet falcon; Rune, the two had bonded after she mended its broken wing and nursed it back to health, from there the two were inseparable. They were so close that the falcon had saved Lucinda's life when she fell into the fjord near the castle, because of its quick thinking and determination her life was saved. King Erik himself honored the falcon with the rank Master of Birds.

"Your Highness." He called, the girl turned towards him and smiled.

"Hansel!" She squealed with joy as she ran up to him after allowing Rune to take flight. "So...what's up?"

He chuckled lightly at her enthusiasm. "Your father requests your presence in his study." He said.

Lucinda's face paled. "I didn't do anything wrong, did I?"

"It's none of those sorts. Now, come along."

He led her back to the King's study. "Your Majesty, she's here." He announced, before opening the door and allowing her to enter. He then stood guard outside with two other members of the royal guard.

"Ah, Lucinda there you are." Erik started, "I did some researching and I know that you used to live in a village called Dunwiddie in the Kingdom of Enchancia. I just want to ask, how was it like living in a village?" He asked.

Lucinda was taken aback at the question but answered anyway. "It was fun, peaceful, quiet. It was actually everything I could ask for. At first, the people weren't kind to me because I liked to cause trouble and make fun on them but Princess Sofia came along and changed me for the better."

"Hmm...Interesting. Go on."

"With Sofia's help, I managed to make friends with everyone in the village, including those whom I hurt. They forgave me and we started anew. She also introduced me to her family, her mother and brother took a liking to me at first glance, though it took some convincing for her sister and father but at the end, they all understood and became good friends." She continued. "Why do you ask?" She asked with a frown.

Erik smiled. "Because...I am invited to a royal ball in Enchancia in courtesy of my deeds during the war, and I want you to come with me." He brought up the sealed letter with the royal insignia of the Kingdom of Enchancia and showed it to her.

"This is real right? Not a fake?" Lucinda asked skeptically, eyeing the royal seal as if it were an evidence to a crime.

"Yes, my sweet dove." Erik replied with a light chuckle.

"Sooo..." Lucinda trailed off with an evil grin. "Can I disguise myself?"

The very next day, the royal Coronain convoy departed for the Kingdom of Enchancia. Unlike the other Kingdoms across the continent, Corona is one of the three Kingdoms to not have any Pegasus in their stables, hence they had no flying carriages. However, the Kingdom of Corona was known for their extensive deployment of cavalry forces upon the field of battle, it was their horsemen that turned the tide in many battles and skirmishes when the largest barbarian horde that the continent had ever seen invaded the peaceful lands of Enchancia, thus igniting the spark to a total war. And because of their massive breeding of horses, it took at least three stables that was fifty-feet wide in length to house all their horses, the castle itself had its own stable which housed the King's personal horse and his guards. The newest addition to the stable was a fine Arabian horse breed that originated from the Arabian Peinisula, but was raised in the Kingdom of Rudistan - another Kingdom that could field a vast force of cavalry and was considered to have the second largest army in the continent, slightly behind Corona by a margin, thankfully, the two Kingdoms were on the best of terms and each considered the other an ally, if not it would have been total chaos. The horse was meant to be Erik's gift to Marla, but with her untimely death and certain events leading to Lucinda's adoption, he decided to give the horse to her after ensuring that she could ride.

Lucinda was elated beyond her wildest imagination; she hasn't seen her friends for three years and she literally can't wait to see them again. And the best part was, they didn't even know that she was now a princess and part of the Coronian royal family that had ties to Rapunzel herself. She wanted to use that knowledge to her advantage, and that was why her father had allowed her to bring along her royal guard apprentice outfit and giving her a four hour head start into the village. Other than that, she was absolutely fine with his other rules. She watched as the townspeople waved and said their farewells as they left the main gate, soldiers standing to full attention as they passed. Erik had allowed Lucinda to bring along Rune, seeing that the two were inseparable and the falcon itself was the perfect guard for his daughter than any of the royal guards combined. Secretly, he had also formed a bond with Rune as Lucinda had caught him chatting with it in her room, but he put it aside as being curious about her feathered friend, but no one knew that he could understand animals. His enemies did not call him 'The King of Beasts' without a reason.

"Did you feed him?" He asked casually.

"Who?" Lucinda looked at her father.

"The falcon..." He sighed.

"How did you know it was a 'he'?" She asked.

"Um...I just guessed." He quickly replied before pretending to look at the scenery.

"How odd..." Lucinda observed. "You always seem to understand what Rune wants when others could not." She voiced her thoughts.

Erik chuckled as he continued slapped the reins of his horse and trotted forward leaving Lucinda in suspense at his hidden ability.

Gretel, who was riding next to her smiled warmly. "His Majesty the King called us to his chambers in the dead of the night, at first, we thought that it had something to do with the Southern Isles or something like that but were mistaken. It turns out that you left your journal opened and he took a glimpse and saw many indications, stating that you missed your old home. We decided to make your dream a reality, letting you see your friends again sure brings joy to our hearts." She said.

"Aw...thank you so much Gretel!" Lucinda said, inclining her head in gratitude. "I can't wait to see James again." She fingered the diamond-shaped ruby necklace that hung on her neck.

"What was that, Your Highness?" Hansel coughed, pretending to be deaf to get her to repeat.

"Nothing!"

Erik smiled at the scene. "We will probably arrive a day before the ball starts, I did this on purpose so you could roam around and meet with your friends. But when the ball officially starts, you must know that I have to announce to all that you are now my daughter. I hope you do understand." He explained.

"I do." Lucinda nodded her head. "We can't hide forever...it's about time."

"But you do know that once I make the announcement, you will have to attend Royal Prep."

"The Headmistresses of Royal Prep _are_ my tutors before Gretel, in case you have forgotten. And besides, I love a challenge."

"Now, that is a Lucinda we know and love." Hansel commented from his horse. "Just remember-"

"Don't eat the candy." Everyone cut him off while rolling their eyes.

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

 **Hi, I know that it has been quite some time since I last updated my Sofia the First fanfic, and I have been doing lots and lots of thinking during the long pause from writing 'Lucinda the First' and I made the decision that a revised version is in order. I am just not too happy with the last few chapters I made with the war and all that and felt the need to get rid of them thus I decided to rewrite the entire story. Some plots like this chapter would remain exactly the same with some minor changes here and there to provide more backstory for various characters. Stay tuned for more info in the next chapter!**


	2. Be One With The Crowd

**Chapter Two**

 **Be One With The Crowd**

Lucinda 'Magwin' Fitzherbert, Crown Princess of the Kingdom of Corona, and Duchess of the Northern Isles, flexed her sore arm after an early morning training with Hansel, the Lord Commander of her step-father's Kingsguard. It was sort of a daily routine that she followed strictly which begin with a duel with some of the best knights and soldiers under the watchful gaze of Hansel, and it was followed by a short rest before delving into the secrets of the arcane arts under the guidance of Gretel, the royal sorceress and magic adviser to her step-father. For a total of thirteen months, she had been following this schedule tightly ever since she was rescued from execution, however, today wasn't like any other day. The Coronain delegation consisting of fifty knights, and three hundred and sixty-five men-at-arms have been travelling for at least two weeks before finally reaching the outskirts of Dunwiddie, a small but growing village directly below the towering walls of the Enchancian castle. True to his word, King Erik Fitzherbert allowed Lucinda a head start, giving her the chance to meet up with her friends under the disguise of her apprentice outfit, she would then be able to mingle around with her friends and have a day of fun before slipping back into the encampment and donning her true colors.

Making doubly sure that her sword was attached to her belt and James' gift hanging proudly from her neck, Lucinda pushed away the flap to her tent and walked outside where Ralof, the captain of her personal guards waited with her Arabian horse readied. She swung herself onto the saddle like she always did during her training with the royal guards before Hansel took over, she stroked the horse's mane which caused it to neigh in response, she giggled and turned to face her concern captain. "I'll be fine Ralof. You don't have to be so paranoid. We are in the Kingdom of Enchancia, there is no chance that the Southerners could harm me here. And besides, I have friends in the village." She said, rolling her eyes in the process.

"I meant no disrespect, Your Highness." Ralof replied gruffly. "After the numerous attempts on your life by those Southern dogs had many of the lads on age, they would want you safe. I want you safe."

"Let them try. I'm not the same girl that they tried to kill all those months ago." Lucinda replied with a steely gaze. "In case you have forgotten, I trained under one of the very best swordsman known throughout the Kingdoms. And I have Rune." Her pet falcon screeched in agreement. She could still sense his unease, she sighed and shook her head. "I'll be careful Ralof, I promise."

"It seems that I can't stop you from going," Ralof gave a small grunt of approval. He lifted up a horn and handed it to her. "Under any circumstances that you should encounter danger, blow it once and help will come your way." Lucinda nodded her thanks. "Stay out of trouble, milady."

Lucinda took hold of the reins. "You know me Ralof, I don't find trouble." She gave it a tuck and her horse went surging forward. "Trouble finds me!" She yelled as the horse took off into a full gallop. She rode past several familiar sights, from the meadow where she first met Sofia to the forest where she loved to explore during her free time, she smiled ever brighter when she smelt the familiar air of the village of Dunwiddie. She was home. The first place she went was to her former house, she was glad to learn that it had been converted into a shop selling food supplies to travelers and townsfolk alike, she nodded her head in approval and rode down the lane. The familiar old oak tree loomed ahead of her, she recalled singing along the road with Sofia after the princess successfully managed to get her to apologize for all the hexes she caused to the other children. She dismounted, and tugged on the horse's reins, getting it to follow her as she inspected the towering tree from her younger days.

"Oh, Rune, I wish I met you sooner than perhaps you could enjoy flying around Dunwiddie." The falcon screeched and inclined its talons towards an inscription written on the bark of the tree. "Huh, what did you see?" Lucinda's eyes followed the talon and saw the words, she released her hold on her horse and approached the tree and placed a hand on the carving. It was Sofia's writing. "It doesn't matter who hurt you, or broke you down, what matters is who made you smile again. I miss your smile Lucinda." She read out softly. "Oh, Sofia, if only you knew how close we are from seeing each other." She commented with her eyes gazing towards the castle, but when she turned around she heard a loud gasp. Standing before her was one of her few friends from the village, the girl's eyes were wide as saucers and her mouth hanging slightly open, an empty basket laid on the ground with its contents laying all around. Lucinda smiled weakly and gave a short wave after nudging her feathered friend to take to the skies.

"Hi, Jade." She greeted sheepishly.

"LUCINDA!" Jade cried, springing forward and crashing her arms around the said girl.

Lucinda giggled at the affection shown by her friend, she returned the embrace fiercely, the two girls parted after a short while and stared at each other, studying the small changes before they both smiled. "Its so good to see you again, Lucinda." Jade said after she calmed down from her excitement.

"Likewise." Lucinda replied. "Its been so long. I'm sorry if I hadn't wrote." She apologized.

"Don't worry too much about it." Jade waved her apologies aside. "What's that outfit you're wearing?" She inquired.

"The outfit of an apprentice to the Coronain royal guards, or in simple term, a squire with benefits." Lucinda answered, as she herself marveled at her robes. Jade gaped at her in surprise. She laughed. "What can I say? I wanted to try out a different lifestyle."

Jade smiled warmly. "I won't comment on it. But Sofia and Prince James most likely would." She said. Lucinda stood up straighter at the mentioning of the two names that she wanted to hear. Jade smiled even wider. "You'll be surprised to learn that a lot of things has changed after you left for the Kingdom of Corona. For example, Princess Amber is now a Buttercup like Sofia. There is also an yearly event called Dazzleball, a game of sports that is played between the royals and us, or should I just say the Red Hawks and the Dunwiddie Ducks. Sofia switches between the two teams every year, this year she's set to play in the royal team. Perhaps, you can join us Lucinda." She said excitedly. Lucinda just smiled, but inside she was nervous, she didn't want to reveal her royal status just yet. "Speaking about Sofia, I'm about to meet her in the castle, you wanna tag along?"

Lucinda shrugged. "Why not?"

"Great! Let's get going!" Jade started to reach for her basket before realizing that the contents had all spilled. "Aww...I'm supposed to deliver these paint bottles to Sofia, something for her project. A school play I believe." She gave a defeated sigh. But just as she was about to ask Lucinda for any suggestions, the paint that currently stained the floor were sucked back into their respective bottles and neatly placed back into her basket. Whirling her head slightly to her left, she watched as a blue light surrounded Lucinda's hands as she slowly guided the paint bottles back into place. She stared at her friend and said only one word. "Woah..."

Lucinda smiled and lowered her hands and the light faded away instantly. "Jade, I know that this is a lot to take in but please keep this to yourself. I'll tell Sofia and the others at a later date." Jade just nodded in response. "Oh! Before we go." She approached her horse and whispered a few words into its ear, Jade watched with wide eyes when the horse neighed in response and trotted away. "Alright, I'm done. Let's go."

* * *

Constable Miles was astonished, or surprised by Lucinda's return. He continued shaking his head in wonder at the fact that she now carried a sword and wore an outfit that should be worn by a male, he heard the soft giggles behind him and knew that both girls were probably talking about his facial reaction earlier when Lucinda told him her name. The castle steward, Baileywick was away with his brother for a fishing trip and will not be returning until the royal ball which was the next day, thus the task of escorting guests and friends of the royal family falls to him. He stopped outside the door leading towards the library and gave three loud knocks. "Princess Sofia. Prince James. Princess Amber. Your friend, Jade from Dunwiddie is here to see you." He announced, he turned towards Lucinda who shaked her head as if to tell him to keep quiet, and surprisingly, he complied and waited for the door to open. And when it did, the three royal children stood behind and quickly welcomed Jade inside. But before Sofia could close the door again, James spotted an extra pair of legs behind the constable and pointed out.

"Wait! Who's that behind you Constable Miles?" James had spoken aloud causing his sisters to look at the constable.

"An old friend." Constable Miles replied with a smile, he stepped aside revealing a grinning Lucinda. "I shall now take my leave." He bowed and walked away.

"Lucinda..." Sofia rolled the name on her tongue, she took a few steps forward. She stared at her friend for almost an eternity before literally pouncing on Lucinda and tackling her to the ground. The joy of seeing her friend again after three long years was already melting her heart, but seeing her in an outfit that the Enchancian guards wore when they're not on duty shocked her to the core but that would be a question she'll ask later. The two girls giggled and laughed as they helped each other to their feet, Princess Amber surprised both her twin brother and step-sister when she pulled Lucinda into a hug as well before chiding her for the choice of clothing, Lucinda shrugged and flicked her hair towards the back revealing James' parting gift to her. The two princesses turned to their brother and shoved him forward.

James, the Crown Prince of Enchancia stared at the witch that had won his heart when she decided to help Sofia, unlike his twin sister, he never once faulted Lucinda nor Sofia for that small incident during Mother's Day. He only scolded Sofia for not telling him earlier, if she had approached him about her problem, he would have gladly stepped aside to allow both Sofia and his step-mother some alone time. But come to think of it, if Sofia did told him about her loneliness, he wouldn't have met Lucinda and the two would not have developed feelings for each other. He felt a burning sensation at his right arm and found Amber pinching him with a pointed look, he gulped nervously and lifted his head to face the girl of his dreams. "You look very fetching in that outfit." He blurted out suddenly. He blushed furiously when he realized his mistake, but he did not expect Lucinda's reply to be equally romantic.

"Why, thank you James. And may I say that you look devilishly handsome in that outfit." Lucinda replied with a warm smile. "I missed you James."

James wrapped his arms around her waist, burying his head on her shoulders. "I missed you more, Lucinda." He mumbled his reply. When the two parted after what felt like an eternity, he took a glance at the necklace and smiled brightly. "You wore it." He stated plainly.

Lucinda giggled. "Why would I not?" She gave a mock-pout and folded her arms. "I gave my word, didn't I?"

"Of course you did!" James quickly countered and smiled sheepishly. He heard Sofia, Amber and Jade howling away like hyenas, he tuned out their laughter and instead focused his eyes on Lucinda. "Are you part of the Coronain delegation? Do you need a room? I can have father-?!" His words died on his lips by another lip that came crashing upon him without any warning. His cheeks turned bright red that instant. The other three girls standing behind him made cooing noises, with Amber fanning herself with one of her many fans, Sofia and Jade had wide smiles across their faces. When Lucinda drew back, her cheeks pink with embarrassment and a tinge of shyness about displaying her affection so openly. James on the other hand, lifted his hand weakly and touched his lips with a dreamy look. "Wow...just...wow..." Was all he could say.

"And to answer your question. Yes, I'm part of the Coronation delegation. And for the need of a room, you'll just have to wait and find out." Lucinda battled her eyebrows, leaving her friends in suspension. Thankfully, she was trained by Hansel not to fall victim to cute faces and pouts, she folded her arms at Sofia's attempts. "Not tellin'!"

"Aw, you're no fun!" Sofia grumbled, but everyone knew she was joking.

"I suppose we can always wait to find out during the ball tomorrow." Amber reasoned, immediately putting a halt to any further attempts from Sofia and James. She snapped her fan shut and gestured for Lucinda to enter the library before signalling Jade to close the door. She dragged Lucinda towards the table where several pieces of clothing lay all around, most were old rags or tattered clothing that the servants donated. "Royal Prep is getting ready for a school play about ancient civilizations, the three of us are placed in charge of props and the clothing, but we are not entirely sure what to make out of it. You must have seen lots of things during your days in the Kingdom of Corona, so do you have any ideas that you might give us?" She inquired politely.

Lucinda studied the various props, she lifted up a short wooden sword. _'Hmm...a gladius.'_ She gently placed it back and allowed her eyes to gaze around the large pile of rags and old clothes, most were red though there were some that were purple and dark navy blue. Her eyes went wide as an idea rang inside her head. Flashes of sketches that she had seen in the Coronain castle's library came flashing before her eyes, drawings of an ancient military organization, an empire so great that it was respected as much as it was feared until it fell nearly a thousand years ago. "Well, judging from the colors, I suppose you can do a short skit about the ancient Roman Empire." She grabbed a rusty knight's helm and ripped apart the visor with her bare hands causing four eyebrows to shoot up at once, she ignored them and leaned forward to pinch several red feathers and indicating James to hold them in place above the helm. Reaching into the back of her robes, she pulled out a small vial and poured it at the bottom where she wanted the feathers to stick and nudged James to release his hold, and when he did the feathers looked as if it was attached to the helm in the first place.

She smiled widely at her master-piece. "Viola! Now you have a Roman Centurion helmet, at least from what I read. But I really wouldn't suggest wearing it until your royal sorcerer gets rid of all those rust, wouldn't want you getting an infection." She said and had to bite back a laugh at the now wide-eyed Amber.

"Wow! This is amazing, can you give us a hand with the rest?" Sofia asked, battling her eyes towards Lucinda who flicked her forehead with a finger. "OW!" She suddenly cried, rubbing her forehead.

Lucinda shook her head. "Nice try Sofia." She stated sternly. "But a true princess regardless of age will do her own work, and that goes for the princes as well."

"Don't let Desmond hear you say that." James remarked, causing Lucinda to raise an eyebrow and Sofia to blush. He folded his arms. "He's a friend from Royal Prep and he's also Sofia's boyfriend. Can you believe that it took Desmond a year to make his move, both Amber and I tried giving him hints that Sofia shared the same feeling as he did but was equally shy when it came to admitting. Nonetheless, he finally manned up and found the courage to ask her out, they have been dating since then and Amber fainted when Sofia kissed him on the lips." He jerked his thumb to his twin sister, who responded by jabbing her fan on his chest, he raised his hands in surrender.

Amber huffed and turned away. "Says the boy who threatened to have his friend blown to shreds by cannons if Sofia came to harm." She retorted.

Lucinda giggled at James' speechless expression. "Oh, James. How could you?" She swatted him playfully across the arm.

"What?" James looked at her with a lopsided grin. "It's what any brother would have done for their sister." He turned his gaze towards Amber. "And speaking about boyfriends and sisters. I'll be having a nice long chat with a certain someone when we return to school in three day's time." Amber whipped her head around so fast that her neck might have snapped, fortunately for her it didn't. He challenged her glare, and she stepped back in defeat. "Don't worry. I just want to ask him some questions. Don't forget, he nearly killed Sofia by cheating during the race."

"That was two years ago!" Amber cried. "But he's changed." Sofia nodded fervently. "Hugo is not the same person as he was before the race. He's no longer boastful and he doesn't look down on common folks anymore, thanks to Sofia." She smiled at her little sister. "He now uses his spare time helping out the servants around the castle instead of sitting around like he used to, he also help the cooks and the stable-master..." She cocked her head at James' reaction.

James wiped away his happy tears. "My sisters are in love!" He cheered. He turned to face Jade, whom had remained absolutely quiet since she entered the library. "Oh! Before I forget!" He reached into his coat and pulled out a neatly folded parchment. "Zandar sends his regards." He tossed the parchment into the air.

"SAY WHAT!" Jade yanked the parchment before it landed and read its contents, her eyes widening at each word written to perfect detail. "This is legit right?"

James nodded. "Yup, took it straight from his very own hands." He glanced at his sisters. "Amber. Sof. Take our guest to the seamstress and have her sizing done."

"As you wish milord." Sofia said sweetly before pushing Jade towards the door where Amber stood waiting, she popped her head back in. "Have fun you two. But not too much 'fun'." She quickly closed the door when James started to advance on her.

Lucinda sighed and took James by the hand. "Take me to the gardens. It would be a much better place to talk than here." She suggested. James nodded eagerly and led the way.

* * *

Lucinda followed James as he led her through winding trees and confusing sharp turns until they reached a door, he yanked the door open and urged her to enter, she took one step in and stared at the place in wonder. James explained to her that this hidden garden was his birth mother's favorite hideout when she wanted to get out of the politics that plagued the life as Queen, when she died, the garden was lost and forgotten as only she knew the entrance. But Sofia managed to find it when searching for her pet rabbit, she accidentally stumbled upon this mysterious lost garden and used it as the ideal location for her tea party project, working together with him, the two gave the entire garden life by luring birds and domestic animals into the garden. The two sat down with their legs dangling slightly above a pond, they spoke about many things that transpired in their lives, Lucinda told nothing but the absolute truth but left out the fact of her being royalty. And then the topic came to the wizard council, Lucinda was taken aback that the news actually traveled all the way to Royal Prep which had many princes talking about it, James knew that it involved Corona and wanted to find out whether she knew anything about it.

"Before I tell you anything. I want you to swear." Lucinda said softly with hurtful eyes. "Swear that you'll never reveal anything until tomorrow night."

"You have my word." James crossed his heart. "Prince's honor."

Lucinda took a deep breath. "It all started out when my mother died. An illness took her." She sniffed and found James holding her hand, he gave her a sympathetic smile, she smiled in return. "On the day of her funeral, I sneaked out of the castle on my broom and took a ship bound for the Kingdom of the Southern Isles. I decided to settle down in a small village known as Hampton, the small community welcomed with open arms despite my heritage as a witch. For at least a month, I helped around the village, bringing smiles to the people but all that changed when a rouge band of witches attacked the village and kidnapped all of the children except me. I tried to reason with the people, but they would not listen to me, they accused me of being the informant - the main reason behind the attack." She growled, her eyes spilling out tears of anger and rage. "How dare they accuse me after I helped them! That _governor_ of the village ordered for my arrest, they stormed into my hut and dragged me out like a common criminal, they even had the nerve to snap my broom before my eyes!" She spat, James only held her hand tighter. "But they didn't dare touch this." She indicated the necklace hanging on her neck with a small grin. "Those guards actually believed that this was an artifact of immense power that would kill them if they laid a finger on it."

Her eyes darken suddenly. "Then those wizards from that council came. They held me on trial and was found guilty on spot and sentenced to burn at the stake alive, like all witches and wizards that practiced the dark arts. As I was being dragged out, I heard the sounds of wood being snapped and my magical energy being drained by a small margin, I knew without glancing that those old men had snapped my wand in two." James' gritting teeth told her that he too was fuming in rage. "They led me out into the open where a scaffold was set and tied me to the infamous stake, as a herald began reading out my crimes and punishment with the crowd cheering along, I managed to catch a glimpse of soldiers positioning themselves atop the roofs, then I spotted the twins, Hansel and Gretel giving me a nod. It was then the truth dawned on me, those soldiers I saw earlier were part of a rescue force, that was what I thought at first until a fast swirling arrow struck my executioner, as the soldiers above the roof continued raining down arrows upon the helpless people below, a deep rumbling sound from the forest could be heard. What I saw gave me a flicker of hope." She continued her tale slowly but her frown and tears faded away and was replaced with a bright smile when she got to the last sentence.

"The Coronain Royal Army had arrived at the nick of time." She giggled softly at James' wide eyes, he stared at her with his mouth agape. She knew that it was no secret that the Kingdom of Corona had the largest army in the entire continent, the vassals of the Kingdom could raise levies as high as nine thousand with five thousand being the minimum, when the call to arms came from the King. The royal army itself already consisted of twenty thousand knights and soldiers, and if she were to add the knights and soldiers from the northern vassals, the number would rise as high as fifty thousand. And even though she had met some knights and soldiers, she had not seen the full force of the royal army and only a small portion. "It's just a small fraction, James. Not the entire army." She explained.

James whistled in admiration. "But still...a portion of their army is already half the size of ours, imagine seeing the full force." His eyes sparkled with curiosity. "What about their Navy? Did you see them? How many ships were there?" He fired off his questions all at once.

"See them? I didn't _just_ see them. I sailed with them. On the flagship." Lucinda corrected causing James' eyes to widen even further. "But I didn't see their entire navy. The rear admiral informed me that the ships that sailed to rescue me are part of the Royal Fleet, there is still the Northern Fleet and the Imperial Second Fleet. But the Royal Fleet is by far the largest of the three consisting of two-hundred and twenty-seven frigates and fifty galleys, all frigates are armed with thirty-eight 12-pounder guns on each broadside. The galleys are mainly used for invasion purposes but are equally heavy armed with twenty 6-pounder guns on both sides, don't look down on those medieval ships, they can throw quite a punch when they need to." The more she described, the more James felt like seeing those ships with his own eyes. She stared at James for what seemed like an eternity, and the more she stared, the more she couldn't bare to lie in front of his face. "James...there is something else."

James shook out of his stupor. "What is it?" He asked, his face showing concern.

Lucinda sighed and stood up. "First let me tell you a story. A friendship bloomed between a young prince and a young witch when the two first laid eyes on each other, they grew up together but events transpired that caused the witch to flee. The prince spent months, years even just to track her down and finally found her in a small village and discovered that she was no longer a young witch but a full-fledged white witch with beauty that any man would kill for. He wrote a letter and invited her over to his castle to be a member of his court, she accepted and brought her young daughter with her, the feelings that they had for each other did not even falter and only grew brighter the moment they laid eyes on each other again. Alas, their moment together was short when she was taken away from this world." She watched as James slowly absorbed her words and he sat even straighter than before, his eyes studying hers for any traces of a prank but found none. "The prince is none other than His Majesty Erik the First, by the Grace of the Divines, King of Corona and King in the North. And the witch was my mother, Marla Magwin, granted the title of Queen of Corona and Queen in the North posthumously."

James pointed a finger at her accusingly. "Doesn't that make you..."

"Her Royal Highness, Lucinda the First, Crown Princess of Corona and Duchess of the Northern Isles." Lucinda repeated her title whilst doing a curtsy.

James snapped back to reality and bowed his head. "Pleased to meet you." He took her ring finger and gave her the kiss of peace. "Your secret's safe with me."

They continued on talking about their royal life and experiences that they lost touch with the time and before they even knew it, the sun had already set and the sky was plunged in a nice array of both orange and dark blue.

"I didn't even realize we had been talking for at least five hours." James commented as he stared at the setting sun.

"Indeed." Lucinda remarked softly, hugging his arm while leaning her head on his shoulders. "And it is getting fairly late, I ought to get back."

"You could just stay here." James pointed out. He didn't really want to see her leave after reuniting with her after three long years.

Lucinda smiled and pulled him close enough for a peck on the cheek. "I'll come back tomorrow. I promise." She turned her attention towards the castle's bridge and gave a soothing whistle that echoed across the bridge until it reached the ears of a certain Arabian horse. She heard James' heavy breathing behind her and can't help but snigger at the mere thought, she smiled when the mighty steed approached, she ran her hand along the mane before swinging herself onto the saddle. "Never seen an Arabian horse before?" James shook his head and lifted his hand, looking at her for permission. "Go ahead, he won't bite." James then begin to gently stroke the horse's neck while his eyes studied the massive beast before him, not even the Enchancian stables had a horse as huge as this. "Don't worry too much about me, I bet my entire gold purse that Coronain knights are in the village waiting for me."

James laughed. "Then you'd better get going." He took a single step back. "I'll see you tomorrow evening then."

"Tomorrow." Lucinda confirmed and gave the reins a slap. With a loud neigh, her horse surged forward, riding across the bridge with the wind on her side. True enough, a small company of royal guards awaited her at the entrance to the village, she sighed and approached them. "What brings you here, Ralof. Father sent you here again."

"His Grace didn't, we came on our own accord. And we are watching your back, Your Highness." Ralof answered with a nod. "If I may be so bold, we should probably head back."

"Let's." Lucinda started riding off in the direction of the Coronain encampment with the small company of royal guards behind her.

* * *

The following day, a loud commotion could be heard coming from the village of Dunwiddie as people crowded both sides of the streets leading to the castle to welcome the savior of Enchancia, no one had forgotten what Erik had done for them and their former King. The Coronains had entered the war as part of a coalition force led by Roland the First, the former King of Enchancia and Erik who was still a prince then led the Coronains against the barbarians and saved Roland's life nine times on the field of battle and turned the tide of the war in their favor. His courage inspired the coalition soldiers that they fought even more harder against the barbarians and gave them no other option but to sue for peace, Roland the First hailed him as the savior of Enchancia and the name had stuck with him ever since. It was in the late afternoon when the trumpets and drums were heard on the road to the village, children ran and screamed for their parents and informed them that the banner of the golden flower was spotted on the horizon.

As the column of men drew closer and closer, they could see three different banners, the middle one was the symbol of Corona which was the golden flower, directly on the right was the King's coat of arms which consisted of a wolf sharing the stage with a lion on a red background, and the left was another banner that was being displayed for the first time since Lucinda's introduction to the royal court. Like her father, Lucinda chose animals to represent her strength and courage, thus her heraldry consisted of a falcon sharing the limelight with a wolf on a green background. The people cheered even more louder when they spotted the very man that saved their Kingdom. Erik Fitzherbert rode down the streets of Dunwiddie in all his glory, his golden crown gleaming brightly above his head, he smiled and waved at everybody he passed. Riding around him were members of the Coronain Kingsguard, their distinctive red cloaks and feathered helms were a dead giveaway to their ranks, five rode in front while ten rode at the back with their Lord Commander directly at the front. Behind them marched at least a hundred soldiers, all with red cloaks and holding halberds and spears.

The crowd turned their heads eagerly to witness a second group riding at a slower pace than the first, unlike the first group, the knights that rode down the road had blue cloaks instead of red and the marching tune was totally different as well. Several children within the crowd including Jade stared with mouths agape and eyes wide when a familiar-looking witch rode in the center of the column, all knew her as Lucinda the friendly witch. Yet, here they were staring at the exact same girl but instead of her usual purple robes and pointy hat, she wore a sparkling blue dress with a silver tiara resting above her head, a brown-feathered falcon was perched on her shoulders. Lucinda noticed Jade staring and shrugged her shoulders, she smiled when she saw Jade nodding her head in understanding about the secrecy, she found Ruby further down the road with an equal expression as Jade. The roaring crowd soon got lesser and lesser as the column went further down the road and before she knew it, the bridge leading to the castle was dead in sight, she took a deep breath and tucked on the reins. She had discussed her entrance with her father before they broke camp in detail, he would enter the castle courtyard first and introduce himself per royal tradition and patiently wait for Roland the Second to introduce his family. Erik would then introduce both Hansel and Gretel before revealing that he had a daughter, of course Lucinda had told him that James already knew about her being royal and she trusted him to play dumb. She would then come riding in with her guards after a herald reads out her name and titles.

"Are you ready?" Erik spoke to his daughter, moments before crossing the bridge.

Lucinda nodded curtly. "I sure am."

"See you on the other side, little dove." Erik said as his trotted down the bridge.

* * *

King Roland the Second stood outside the main entrance to the castle's great hall with his family members and staff arrayed to his left and right, it was customary for royalty to greet the other which had been going on for at least a thousand years. The familiar trumpets and drums made him smile brighter than before, he even stood a little straighter when he caught a glimpse of Erik's heraldry flying proudly in the wind when the first group of horsemen made it past the gates. Ever since he was a boy, watching the knights of Corona riding was one of the few things that he enjoyed doing and he still does, which clearly explains his huge childlike eyes. Though he wasn't the only one. James had a similar expression. The cavalry rode around the courtyard and formed two lines on either side of the wall, facing the entrance, when the Enchancian guards blew their horns signaling the arrival of King Erik, the Coronain knights dipped their banners and heads in respect. Roland was taken aback when the horses lowered their heads as well, but what would be more surprising than this, the Coronains were master horse-breeders which explained their close relationship with their four-legged friend. He watched as his old friend rode down the courtyard, dismounting with a man and a woman before approaching him, they eyed each other for a while and bowed their heads in greeting.

"Hail, Your Majesty." Erik greeted respectfully. "How have you been all these years?"

"Looking after the Kingdom you saved, Your Grace." Roland replied with a huge grin.

The two Kings surprised everyone when they threw their arms around the other in a brotherly hug, which they parted with a firm handshake and a pat on the shoulder. "Allow me to introduce you to my family," Roland said as he gestured towards his wife and children. "This beautiful lady here is my beloved wife for three years, Miranda." Erik did the only thing that most princes and Kings would have done, he took her ring finger and gave it a kiss which flattered her completely. "And this here is my only son and heir to the throne, James." James bowed low enough to impress the foreign King. "My eldest daughter, Amber." Amber gave a graceful curtsy while trying to look out for any sign of Lucinda. "My youngest daughter, Sofia." Sofia curtsied while doing the same as Amber. "Our loyal steward, Baileywick." A man with a black coat and a pocket-watch bowed his head in greeting. "Our royal sorcerer, Cedric the Sensational." The man in purple robes gave a solid bow. "And lastly, a good friend of the family and may I say the youngest to ever work in the castle. Dorrie Cooper." A young girl, most likely around Lucinda's age gave a swift curtsy.

"It's nice to meet you all." Erik greeted everyone but his eyes kept lingering to the young lady-in-waiting causing her to fidget nervously, something told him that he knew her from somewhere. The facial features of the woman that rescued his life was buried in the deepest part of his mind, even though he was merely six years of age, he swore to never forget the face of his savior and that face, a younger one was now right in front of him. He threw those thoughts aside. _'I'll bring this up with Roland later.'_ He said to himself before returning his gaze to his friend. He gestured to the man and woman standing to his right. "May I introduce to you the Lord Commander of my Kingsguard, Hansel. I'm sure you have heard of his exploits during his younger days." Hansel bowed his head towards the Enchancian royal family. "And this lovely lady here is our royal sorceress, Gretel. And before you ask, they're both twins." Gretel gave a curtsy and stood straight back up with her hands clasped behind her back.

Now came the fun part.

"You have met my trusted companions," Erik spoke gruffly, throwing a wink towards James who caught the snitch. "But." He raised his voice. "I haven't introduce you to my daughter. She was nothing more than a wreck when I rescued her from the clutches of the Southern Isles, however, with time and patience, she recovered fully from the terrible ordeal. She now brightens up the day in the castle with her cheerful smile. It took her some time getting used to royal life, but she managed it." He turned to face Roland. "My daughter is turning fourteen in a few days time and I decided to allow her to return to Enchancia as a present, for it was in Enchancia where she was born, it was here where she first learned how to walk. Enchancia is her real home and it was her dream to return here one day. You already know her. You've met a dozen times when Princess Sofia invited her over." He enjoyed the inquisitive looks that the royal family apart from James were throwing at him. He turned and nodded at one of his guards.

"All hail Her Royal Highness, Lucinda the First, Crown Princess of Corona and Duchess of the Northern Isles!" Came a loud cry and it was followed shortly by trumpets.

All eyes turned to the main gate where another group of knights with blue cloaks rode in, they rode around the courtyard and positioned themselves on the left side of the wall, directly opposite the knights with red cloaks. "SOLDIERS SALUTE!" Both sides snapped to full attention as Lucinda came riding down in all her aspects of royalty.

Lucinda dismounted from her horse and whispered softly to Rune and the falcon screeched in response before perching itself on a nearby tree, her guards flanked her left and right as she walked up the steps where her father waited. "Greetings, Your Majesties. It's so good to be back here again." She curtsied more gracefully than Amber and Sofia combined. She smiled at James. "You look very fetching in a blue jacket." She commented causing the Prince's mouth to fall open.

"And you look very..." James shook his head to keep himself from drooling. "...stunning in a dress."

"Lucinda..." Sofia started slowly, she gazed at her friend and a huge smile slowly formed on her face. "Welcome to royal life."

"Indeed." Amber said as she approached, looking at Lucinda's sparkling blue dress in envy. "Your dress is even better than mine. I bet Hildegard would kill anyone just to lay her hands on this." She remarked. Lucinda rolled her eyes while James and Sofia held on to each other while laughing away like hyenas.

"Well, we'd best head inside. I'm sure you're still waiting to greet your other guests." Erik interrupted before any further talks could continue. James reluctantly returned to his position after promising Lucinda to escort her to the ball later. Lucinda merely nodded her head in response before making her way into the castle, her guards in tow. The King of Corona watched as his daughter made her way in before turning to face his friend. "Roland, I need to speak to you privately after you greet your guests of course."

Roland turned his head towards Dorrie and nodded in understanding. "We can talk in the solar." He suggested. Erik nodded curtly before entering the castle.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **First and foremost, I like to thank Niagara14301 for allowing me to continue using characters from the story 'Dorrie'. Judging from the latest chapter of 'Dorrie', I can assume that Dorrie's twin, Candice will be making an appearance in the next chapter.**


	3. Royal Ball

**Chapter Three**

 **The Royal Ball**

With most of the guests already inside the castle's grand ballroom, Prince James made his way towards the guests quarters where Lucinda was assigned to according to the manifest provided to him by Baileywick, he continued glancing at the piece of parchment and winding down the vast hallway. It wasn't long before he spotted the familiar guards with blue cloaks standing guard outside one of the doors, he knew at first glance that these knights were Lucinda's personal guards, he approached the knights and requested politely for entry. The guards stepped aside after a minute or two. He muttered out his thanks and entered the room where he found Lucinda standing outside the balcony overlooking the castle courtyard, he walked to her side and smiled when she acknowledged him by snaking her hands around his arm. The two watched as carriage after carriage were neatly parked beside each other and a small group of villagers dressed in the finest robes and gowns entering the courtyard whilst being escorted by their dates, one couple stood up above the rest and that was Jade and her boyfriend, Prince Zandar from the Kingdom of Tangu.

"Don't they look cute together?" Lucinda voiced her thoughts, leaning her head on James.

James studied his best friend in Royal Prep, even from high up within the castle, he could still see Zandar's actions. Jade's shoulders were bobbling up and down, no doubt laughing from a joke which Zandar had told. "Absolutely." He commented with a grin. "They're perfect for each other."

"And so are we." Lucinda added much more forcibly than she intended to, her arms wrapping tightly around James' arm.

"Yes, us too." James replied, kissing her forehead.

Any further conversation was interrupted by a familiar screeching sound, Lucinda giggled when James screamed at the sight of her feathered friend, she walked towards her trunk and hurled a fresh piece of meat into the air and watched as Rune grabbed it away. "I think he likes you." She said with a snicker. James stared at the falcon with a raised eyebrow. "His name is Rune. I discovered him on the castle ground with a broken wing, I took care of his wound and nursed him back to full strength, when I tried to free him. Well, he kept returning again and again and refused to leave the castle walls. Father informed that a bond had been formed between me and Rune, an unbreakable bond of companionship, hence, I decided to keep him." She smiled slyly when she remembered something else. "Oh, and he has a rank within the royal court. Rune, Master of Birds."

"Master of Birds?" James repeated with a smirk. "So what does he do? Command an army of birds?"

Lucinda laughed. "No. Not really. It's more of an honorary title, like receiving the shield of valor in Enchancia." She explained.

James nodded, before checking his pocket-watch. "We'd best get going. The ball is about to start."

"Lead the way, my prince." Lucinda said, and giggled when James locked his arm in hers.

"Gladly, milady." James responded as the two left the boundaries of the room.

* * *

King Roland the Second closed the door leading to his solar behind him, he excused himself after the list of guests was read finish and immediately made his way into his private solar reserved for conversations with other members of royalty. He found Erik standing by the hearthfire. "Is she the one?" Erik spoke first, turning his head slightly to glance at his friend. "Is she the daughter of Lady Mary?" His voice sounded desperate, his heart aching to find out the truth. The facial features from the woman that had saved him and Dorrie was frightening similar, the eyes were of the same shape, the nose had the same angle and the wavy hair was a dead giveaway that Dorrie was in fact a younger version of the late Mary Cosmarune. "Please Roland, I'm begging you not as a King but as a man searching for redemption, I was there when Lady Mary gave birth and I know that they named their daughter Dorrie. If she truly is their daughter, please tell me."

Roland sighed and nodded his head. "She is. Dorrie Cooper, or formerly known as Dorrie Cosmarune is the the daughter of the late Lady Mary." He hated seeing his friend looking so glum and sour, he knew that the Cosmarune family had close ties with Erik's parents especially after Mary Cosmarune herself rescued Erik from drowning, and that the family was gifted a manor as a reward by the late King Eugene. Despite having a manor, both Mary and her husband, Donald Cosmarune rather stay in a village than a massive manor so as to not attract unwanted attention, they opted for a small village called Galdana. Every year, Erik would pay them a visit but on one fateful day, the village of Galdana was set alight during an attack by rouge witches. Erik ordered his men to combat the flames but when they reached the outskirts of the hut where both Mary and Donald resided. It had already collapsed with flames as huge as a three-storey building. Erik assumed that the entire family perished within the fire.

"By the Divines..." Erik rubbed his temple as he sat down. "That little girl has grown up." He commented softly.

"Indeed she has." Roland said slowly. "And I have been doing everything within my power to keep her safe." He reassured his friend.

"Can...can I meet her." Erik spoke after a minute of pondering. Roland urged him to explain. "There is something that I must return. Something that belongs to her."

Roland pondered for a moment. "Erik...there is something else you must know before you decide to meet her." His friend inclined his head for him to continue. He took a deep breath and sighed. "Barely a year ago, about four months back, an evil clone of Dorrie was created with the main purpose of stealing a powerful amulet from one of Sofia's many friends. The clone successfully swiped the amulet, but was conflicted about the choice between good and evil, she was bound to obey the orders of her creator and yet she felt content when showing off her magic skills. She fought with her inner demon and made the ultimate decision to disregard her creator's commands and surrendered to the guards. I granted her a royal pardon as she literally did nothing harmful while in the village, she took on the name Candice." He recounted the events.

"Hmm...a clone." Erik commented with a smirk. "That makes it more interesting than before, I guess I'll have to meet them both."

"A fine idea," Roland patted Erik's shoulders and turned his head towards the door. "Guard." An Enchancian guard soon entered. "Find Dorrie Cooper and Candice and escort them here."

"At once, Your Majesty." The guard saluted and left the solar only to return a short while later with Dorrie and Candice in tow.

Roland waved the guard away and gestured for the two to enter. "Did I do something wrong, Your Majesty?" Dorrie inquired. Her body started trembling the moment she spotted the King of Corona sitting on one of the chairs, she was afraid that she might have offended him in some way and he had complained to King Roland about it.

Roland chuckled. "Relax Dorrie, you are not in any trouble. You as well, Candice. I would not have called you both all the way into my private solar just to inform that you did something wrong, and you can consider yourself lucky as you are the first maids to ever step in this room and may I say that not even my children are allowed in here." He laughed even harder at Dorrie's widening eyes and Candice's hanging mouth, he smiled when he caught a glimpse of a small grin on Erik's face. "The real reason I summoned you lies in the hands of my friend, Erik Fitzherbert, the King of Corona." He nudged Erik to approach. "Erik, you have the floor."

"Your Majesty." Dorrie greeted.

"Your Grace." Candice curtsied politely.

"My, my, twelve long years. Time sure flies fast." Dorrie looked at Erik in confusion. "The last time I saw you, your cheeks were still rounded with baby fat. You were barely a few months old then." Erik explained, he watched as the girl suddenly lost her balance and was caught by Candice's instant reaction. "I think that it is best if you sit down for the story which I'm about to tell you." He suggested which she complied. "When I was six I fell into the fjord while out playing, I soon found myself drifting down and into darkness, certain that I was doomed to die at such a young age. Instead, I woke to the sound of my mother weeping. Hovering above me was a stranger, all soaked and smiling at me. My mother explained to me that she had saved my life. And so began a long and prosperous relationship between two families; yours and mine." Dorrie listened to every single word attentively, this new piece of information about her parents wasn't revealed to her even when she discovered the real truth behind their deaths, she had barely scratched the surface of her family's legacy. "I am sorry that I could save your parents. If I had known that they survived the flames..."

"You have nothing to apologize for, Your Majesty." Dorrie replied softly. "You didn't know."

"Your mother saved my life twice. First when I fell into the fjord. And the second was after a massive battle that took place in Southern Enchancia, a lucky barbarian scum managed to slice an artery, my knights dragged me to the nearest village where your parents stayed. Your mother nursed me back to health with her powers. Without her fast thinking and her skills in the arts of healing, I would most probably have died at a very young age, I owe them my life." Erik smiled fondly at the memory, he reached into his robes and pull out a sealed scroll. "Here. Take this." He handed it over.

Dorrie inspected the seal. "I'm not familiar with this emblem. Its not in any of the books that I have seen." She commented.

"Of course it wouldn't be." Erik chuckled lightly. "This emblem is the official symbol of your family, it represented their seat of power in the royal court. Your parents served my parents as royal advisers for almost a decade, until your mother gave birth to you." Dorrie ran her finger across the seal, marveling over the crafted details. "The contents of the scroll is a hand-written order to the steward that the heir to the seat of House Cosmarune has returned to claim her family home, I have spoken with King Roland and he has granted you the permission to travel to Corona at any given time you wish. Upon your arrival, head directly to the castle and show this command to any of the castle guards, they will then escort you to your family manor resting atop the highest peak overlooking the city." He explained the real reason behind her summoning. "Your parents rarely stayed in the manor, but it is still theirs, things that they have left behind and those that I could salvage from the fire are placed neatly inside. The manor is being maintained and protected by a loyal steward and a garrison consisting of ten soldiers."

"Your very own manor." Candice remarked with a grin.

"Candice, you're my sister. You are family." Dorrie retorted with a grin of her own. "That makes you an owner of this manor as well."

Candice smiled and tugged on her blonde hair. "If you say so, sis."

"Your Majesty, thank you for all this." Dorrie held the scroll tightly to her chest. "I swear that I'll drop by once I'm available."

"And I look forward to it." Erik replied.

* * *

The royal students from Royal Prep flooded Lucinda the moment she stepped into the ballroom with James, many had questions to ask, the princes mainly wanted to find out about the military strength of her Kingdom while the princesses wanted to find out how she managed to adapt to royal life. Lucinda answered most of their questions honestly and told nothing but the truth, she fought the back the nerve to laugh when she mentioned the full size of the Coronian Royal Army to several stunned faces of the princes and princesses that did not know much about the politics of their Kingdom. Princess Sofia took this moment to introduce Lucinda to her date, a Prince of her age that went by the name Desmond. Princess Amber also introduced Lucinda to Prince Hugo. When Prince Khalid from the Kingdom of Khaldune inquired about her chosen date, she smiled confidently as she stood beside James, her hands tightly wrapped around his, the two then displayed their love for each other by kissing in full view of their audience causing many coos from the various princesses and whoops of joy from the princes. Any further conversations were halted when Lucinda's eyes widened.

"Oh my!" A heavenly voice sounded. "Is that really her?" There, before the crowd stood three fairies, old and wise but their beauty surpasses all.

Lucinda cried out in utter disbelief, gaping with a trembling pointed finger. "Fauna? Flora? Merryweather?"

"Look at how much she's grown!" Fauna stated, her two hands neatly placed together. "How long has it been? Six months? A year? Oh, I can barely remember."

"It's so wonderful to see you again Lucinda." Merryweather said in joy.

"Imagine our surprise when we discovered that you were coming." Flora said with a jovial grin. The three fairies held out their arms as Lucinda came charging forward, disregarding her dress or tiara and flung her arms around the three of them. James watched the entire scene with a warm smile, he was enchanted by how overjoyed Lucinda was when she saw the fairies. "How have you been since we left? Behaving well, I assume."

"Always." Lucinda replied with a smile of her own. "You wouldn't know how much I missed the three of you!"

"Oh...we missed you, dear one."

"Lucinda?" Sofia approached with an inquisitive look. "How did you know the Headmistresses of Royal Prep?"

"My father hired them to be my tutors, he wanted me to follow in my mother's footsteps and master the arcane arts, to live up to her name and be proud of her heritage as a witch. And that's what I did." Lucinda answered. "But it turns out that my powers are even greater than theirs combined. I learned everything so fast that they just couldn't teach me anymore, it would take a normal person years to learn a master-spell and that does not include the wand-movement. I took days." She added.

"She was a talented student. Always listening and asking when in doubt." Fauna said, placing her hands firmly on Lucinda's shoulders. "Though, there was that one time she tried using a teleportation spell that consisted of a portal and landed in the-mmprh!" She was cut off by Lucinda's hand shooting up to cover her mouth.

"They don't have to hear this." Lucinda chuckled nervously. She mouthed _'later'_ to James. "Sorry about that." She apologized as she released her hand.

Flora shook her head at her antics. "Lucinda, I suppose that you'll be attending Royal Prep soon." The girl nodded. "Good, we need your help in magic classes now more than ever. Especially this year. The annual fairy convention is about to take place and we can't be at Royal Prep every time, and we hate cancelling our lessons with the children, however, with you around, you can still continue teaching them what we taught you months ago." She explained.

"Of course, I would be most honored to help." Lucinda answered modestly.

"Now that's settled." Merryweather clapped her hands together. "Where is your partner in crime?"

Lucinda jerked her thumb outside. "In the gardens. Most likely perched on a tree." The three fairies then bade their farewells and flew off to find Rune. Looking at the bewildered expression on the crowd's face, including James, she shrugged as she explained. "They seem to think that Rune, my feathered friend is much more smarter and intelligent than your usual falcon, every day they would spent at least three hours with him when they're not teaching me magic. Don't ask me why. I'm still as much confused as you lot are." Her ears perked up when she heard music in the background, and her legs were aching for a dance.

James pushed his friends aside and walked forward. "May I have the honor of this dance milady?" He asked with an extended hand.

"I don't see why not, my handsome prince." Lucinda replied, taking his hand as they swayed to the music.

The musicians played a lovely melody as they danced around the ballroom, Sofia and Amber watched on keenly with wide smiles across their faces. King Roland and Queen Miranda stood with their hands held together entranced by the love and joy on James' face as he danced with the only girl he fancied. Gretel clapped her hands proudly as she stood beside her brother. The couple twirled and spun around, James' laugh and Lucinda's heart warming smile was all it took to steal the limelight, as they allowed their feet to do the hard work, they didn't pay any attention that everybody else had stopped waltzing and were instead staring at them. They continued moving across the room, their hips swaying to the beat of the music, their eyes never leaving the other and their smiles never fading. As the music and the beat with it went faster and faster, the two of them were literally jumping all around the place, Lucinda managed to yank a red rose from a nearby table when she within range and held it with her mouth. When the musicians ended the melody on a high note, James pinched the rose from her lips with his own and lifted her up into the air causing her to yell out in glee. Applause resonated across the ballroom, the couple blushed furiously when they realized that they were the ones that had been dancing while the crowd watched.

"You two were a-mazing!" Sofia congratulated them in a sing-song voice. "Where did you learn to dance like that?"

"Father taught me, turns out he was quite a charmer back in his days." Lucinda answered with a dreamy smile. "Like that ball which he took my mom to when they were our age." She conjured her mother's journal from thin air and started flipping the pages. "Ah ha! I was right." She shoved the journal in Sofia's face.

Sofia read the contents silently. "Wow. Just by reading the words, I can already imagine." She pouted and placed her hands on her hips. "Desmond! Why can't you be more like the younger King of Corona?" Desmond gulped and tried to come up with words while the others laughed at his plight. Hugo's laughter died the moment Amber demanded the same thing, well, to put it in simple terms, all the princes that were old enough to be dating were being questioned except for James.

"Let's get out of here." James suggested, tugging on Lucinda's arm.

"Good idea." Lucinda grinned, and the two silently vanished from the ballroom.

Skipping down the majestic hallway, both James and Lucinda laughed their heads off as they made their escape, passing numerous guards and servants who all stared at them either in confusion or with smiles on their faces. Raising a hand to stop Lucinda from advancing any further and telling her to have a seat, James disappeared for a short while and returned with a tray filled with the finest cuisine that the chef had cooked for the guests, he admitted to her that he stole it when Baileywick wasn't looking. Under normal circumstances, Lucinda would have chided him for such a childish act, but her stomach was growling in hunger and the smell of the food was driving her insane, and she had to admit that a late dinner with the boy she fancied is the best thing to end the night with. James stared in amazement as Lucinda dimmed the torches along the walls with a wave of her hands, leaving their table in a romantic setting with only a candle as the brightest source of light.

James smiled as he poured himself and Lucinda a drink. "It is a good life we lead, Lucinda." He said softly.

"The best. May it never change." Lucinda agreed, lifting up her cup.

James raised his cup as well. "And may it never change us." Their cups met with a 'clink' before they drank together as one.

* * *

"Argh...my head." Lucinda groaned as she slowly regained her bearings, it was then she realized that she wasn't alone. The first indication was a heavy weight pressing against her side. A wave of panic swept over her, but then the memories of the night before came back. She smiled as she remembered exactly where she was and who was snoring softly in her ear. James' head was neatly placed on her left shoulder and his arm tightly wrapped around her left arm, she gently patted his head until she heard a yawn. "Hey, sleepy-head." She greeted with a jovial grin.

"Wha-what happened?" James inquired, sitting up to full height and rubbing his eyes. "Where are we?"

"Dining room." Lucinda answered, standing on her two feet and stretched her sore limbs. "I believe we fell asleep after challenging each other to a drinking contest."

"I won." James announced proudly.

"You sure did." Lucinda rolled her eyes at his childish action. "Come on, we'd better freshen up ourselves before anyone gets any idea."

Stepping out into the hallway, they immediately ran straight into a fuming Princess Sofia at the top of the stairs. "JAMES! Where in the world were you last night? I went into your room this morning and guess what! Bed empty! And not a single note!" James flinched at Sofia's sharp tone. "And Lucinda," Now it was Lucinda's turn to cringe. "Disappearing from the ballroom with James, hiding in a place where not even guards could find you, you had us all worried!" Sofia sounded exactly like a worried mother reprimanding her two wayward children, and one would actually think that Sofia was the older sibling despite her being the youngest of the trio. She glanced at their crumbled clothing before her eyes moved slowly towards their disheveled hair, her eyes widened. "Did...did you two..."

"NO!" Both James and Lucinda cried at the same time, their cheeks grew red when they glanced at each other.

"We lost track of time and fell asleep." James stuttered out his explanation.

Lucinda bit her lower lip. "We did nothing else..." She felt much more younger than her age at Sofia's glare. "...okay, we might have cuddled but nothing more."

Sofia sighed. "You could have at least told me or Amber what you were up to, and we all might have gotten a good night's rest without constantly worrying about the two of you." James shuffled his feet nervously while Lucinda found the floor very interesting. "Anyway, I'm glad I was the one who found you first. Imagine what would happen if Amber was in my place, she would have yelled, screamed and chide that the castle windows are in need of replacing." A small smile formed on her face. "I have to admit, I expected some sort of romantic feelings from the both of you, but the two of you sure worked fast than other couples. I mean, it took me a few weeks before I finally felt comfortable with Desmond's arm around my waist, and it took you a matter of three hours." She looked bemused at their blushing faces. "Well, hurry on and freshen up than come to the great hall. And James...bring your sword."

"Whatever for?" James questioned.

"You'll see." Sofia trailed off merrily and brushed past them, snickering.

"I've got a bad feeling about this." Lucinda said. James nodded his agreement.

* * *

Upon arrival in the great hall, Lucinda and James noticed that the people presented within the room were mainly members of royalty, though there were a few knights from the various Kingdoms present. Among the notable were; King Magnus of Rudistan. Emperor Quan of Wei-Ling. Queen Cecily of Zumaria. King Habib and Queen Faranaz of Tangu. Standing proudly beside their parents were the various students from Royal Prep, yet, there were some like Princess Clio are attending as representatives in their parents stead and their Kingdom. A herald read out their full title as they stepped into the great hall, James was directed to stand with his family and Lucinda standing with her guards as her father was at the front. All eyes were focused on the King of Corona, as he stepped forward. Erik shot a smile towards his daughter and faced the crowd.

"When I was a young boy, I had liberty, but I did not see it. I had time, but I did not know it. And I had love, but I did not feel it." Erik spoke as memories of his childhood flashed into his mind, the times he had spent with Marla came whisking by like the gale of the wind. Her gentle smile. Her laughter. He missed them all. "Two decades would pass before I understood the meaning of all three. And now, after a huge milestone in my life, that understanding has passed into contentment." He beckoned Lucinda to stand beside him, he held her hands in his. "I made a huge mistake in letting the love of my life go, only to reunite with her after a decade and to have her die in my arms just three years later. I. Will. Not. Make. The. Same. Mistake. Again." He allowed his tears to fall freely, and before the eyes of many, the legendary 'King of Beasts', fearsome in battle and said to have never lost a single battle, wept like a child. Lucinda didn't really understood the love that her mother shared with him, until now, with tears brimming in her eyes, she flung herself over her father. Erik returned the hug. "Lucinda, I want to know...do you really love James?"

Despite her tears, Lucinda nodded her head. "Yes father, when I first met him, I honestly didn't know that he was going to be this important to me." She looked towards James and found him smiling. "I love him for the person he is. I love him more than life itself. If I had to choose between loving him and breathing, I would use my last breath to tell him that I love him. And I won't let him go." She saw both Sofia and Amber nudging their brother forward to say something.

"And you?" Erik turned his eyes towards James. "Do you love her as well?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. When you realize you want to spent your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start immediately." James said, taking a step forward and approaching Erik slowly while gazing into his eyes. He was determined to earn his trust. "Meeting her was fate, becoming her friend was a choice, but falling in love with her was beyond my control. You can say that I'm selfish because I'll never share her with anyone." He stared at Erik even when the King rose to full height.

Lucinda went to his side and hooked her arm in his. "And I'll never share him with anyone."

A huge smile formed across Erik's face. "Roland." He called to his friend. Roland smiled happily as he approached with a piece of parchment. "Sign your names at the bottom once you've read the contents." He watched as James and Lucinda smiled even wider at each word they read, it didn't take long before their signatures were scribbled down at the bottom. He held the parchment aloft. "Those who are present, bare witness to this day. My daughter, Lucinda the First, the Crown Princess of Corona and Duchess of the Northern Isles is hereby betrothed to James the First, Prince of Enchancia!" The crowd stood up in applause. Erik raised his hand. "There is one other thing. James, draw your sword." James unsheathed his blade confused by the command, Lucinda whispered for him to kneel with his blade pointing downwards, which he did.

"Do you swear upon your honor to guard; Her Royal Highness, Lucinda the First, Princess of Corona and Duchess of the Northern Isles with your life."

"I swear." James replied confidently.

"Are you willing to set aside your personal ambition and protect the domain of the Kingdom of Corona and the Kingdom of Enchancia."

"I am."

"Who will vouch for him?" Erik spoke, facing the crowd.

Lucinda watched as the captain of her guard stepped forward, he gave her a nod and faced his liege lord. "I stand witness to the courage of the soul before us." He spoke.

"Would you raise your sword in his honor."

"It stands ready to meet the blood of his foes."

"And would you stand at his side through whatever cost."

"I would gladly follow his voice into battle, be it victory or defeat."

Erik nodded, satisfied with Ralof's answers, he then drew his own sword. "Then under the watchful eyes of the Divines and those present within this hall," He laid the side of his blade onto James' right shoulder, before gently lifting it over his head and tapping his left shoulder. "I dub thee, James the First, Knight of the Royal Guard."

James rose to his feet and felt a cloak being draped over his shoulders, his eyes widened as he touched the fabric of the cloth with the insignia of the royal family of Corona, never in his wildest dream had it ever occur to him that he would one day serve in a foreign army. "Congratulations, I guess I'll be seeing you more often." Lucinda complimented. He looked at her for an answer. She smiled warmly as she answered. "As a knight of the royal guard, you are required to be in the Coronain castle. Your parents must have made some sort of arrangements with my father to stay with us, and you can consider yourself lucky, he doesn't hand out postings to the royal guard to just anybody." James grin only got even wider when he heard that he was going to stay with her after all. With hands together, they started heading out into the courtyard where everyone was preparing to leave. She smiled when she spotted two similar looking girls, everything about them were the same, the features and everything, the only exception was the hair. One was blonde while the other was brown.

"You must be Dorrie and Candice Cooper, the true heirs of House Cosmarune."

"We are, Your Highness." Dorrie answered. "We have talked with our mom, and she has agreed that it is best for us to travel to Corona."

"That's fantastic!" Lucinda cheered. "It's about time that manor is return to its rightful owner." She smiled.

"I'm still trying to wrap my head around it." Candice shook her head. "I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't heard it directly from Uncle Erik."

"Uncle?" James inquired curiously. "But the both of you aren't even related to King Erik in any way."

"True." Dorrie nodded, and smiled brightly. "But I was born in the Coronain castle, attended by nursemaids from the castle itself. My parents urged Uncle Erik to take on the role as a godfather, and he agreed. But then the incident happened a few months later, he thought I perished in the flames along with my parents when we actually ran away and changed our names. He lived with the guilt for so long that when I called him Uncle for the first time, all traces of guilt vanished that instant." She paused before turning her head towards Lucinda. "Um...how do I put this..."

James folded his arms and smiled slyly. "Just say it out already Dorrie. It's no secret that Prince Fredrick is courting you."

Candice interrupted before James could continue. "I meant no disrespect, James. But its best that you go speak to your sisters."

"Go on, I'll wait for you by the horses." Lucinda urged. "Meanwhile, I'll get you two saddled up." She signaled both Dorrie and Candice to follow.

James agreed and walked towards Sofia and Amber, he wasn't even within hearing range when a cloud of purple and brown clashed into his face. "You'd better write James! Or I'll...I'll...punch you!" Sofia said with a sniff, but her eyes were shining with pride. James gave a muffled reply. She giggled nervously when she realized that James' face was buried deep within her hair, making him unable to breathe. "It'll get much more lonelier in the castle without your presence but we'll manage, and we'll still see you at school so its not really a farewell." She added as an afterthought. "Sir James. Has a nice ring to it. I like it." She commented, stepping back to allow Amber to speak.

Amber hugged her brother and smiled. "Do us proud in Corona, brother. And like Sofia said, you'd better write." Her voice promised pain at the last word.

"I swear!" James promised, cringing at the thought of both his sisters punishing him. Her two sisters smiled and stepped back.

"You take care of yourself now." Queen Miranda said in between sobs.

"I will mom." James replied, hugging her waist. They parted shortly and he smiled reassuringly at her, promising that he'll return during the holidays, there was no need for words to be exchanged between him and his father. A simple nod of understanding was all it took. He was no longer a young boy, but a grown teen, and it was high time that he took matters into his own hands. Most of the rulers of the various Kingdoms had to wait for their flying carriages to arrive, thus they all stood huddled behind the royal family of Enchancia watching the knights and soldiers of the Kingdom of Corona mounting their horses and awaiting further orders. James rode on his personal horse, a fully-grown Pegasus, he'll be the first and probably the only knight in Corona to ever fly the skies. He rode his mount until he was beside Lucinda. "All the knights are saddled. Dorrie and Candice are on their mounts. So what are we waiting for?" He asked, already aching to travel with the most powerful knights in the continent.

"Impatient aren't you?" Lucinda chided from her saddle. "We're just waiting for dad to finish speaking with your father."

"Oh! I just remembered!" James panicked all of a sudden. "School starts in two days! And it'll take a few weeks to travel to Corona."

Lucinda cocked an eyebrow. "You don't have to get so paranoid James." She said firmly. "Gretel has a way for us to travel to Royal Prep without taking a flying carriage."

"How would it work?"

"I don't know. It's her method of transportation. She used portals while I just wish for myself to be there." Lucinda replied before she frowned. "And did I mention. I hate portals." She spat. Her memory of accidentally landing in the dungeons when she tried using a portal came back into her mind and how her father, her three fairy mentors and Ralof couldn't stop laughing for two whole weeks that they needed a sedative spell to calm their nerves.

"MOVE OUT!" Came a huge bellow from the King of Corona.

The contingent of knights slowly made their way out of the castle gates.

James glanced at his home for fourteen years, he smiled sadly before slapping the reins of his horse.

The Coronain delegation was on their way home.

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

 **Lucinda will be officially starting Royal Prep in the next chapter, as I stated in the very first chapter, some plots would remain the same so be prepared to see some familiar characters making a return. And since James is now part of the Coronain Royal Guard, he'll be staying with Lucinda in Corona, but that does not mean he'll be there forever, there will be times that he'll return to Enchancia.**


	4. Trouble on the First Day

**Chapter Four**

 **Trouble on the First Day**

Lucinda was enjoying the rest of her morning in contentment. It was her first official day in the Royal Preparatory Academy and she already met almost all of the students, friends had been made all by a simple curtsy and showing nothing but smiles. James and Sofia had taken it upon themselves to show her around the school, Amber would have joined them if she hadn't had dancing lessons. The trio wandered around the school grounds, Sofia showing the various places around the school that would be used for certain events, James introducing her to the very building where their play would take place in about a week, until it was time for their sorcery class. The fairies had left to attend yet another fairy convention and left Lucinda in charge of the class that day, the other royal students had been told before hand by the Headmistresses that when they weren't available for sorcery class, Lucinda would take over as her skills in the arcane arts were superior to theirs. No one dared to complain, not even a snotty princess that went by the name; Deidre. The lesson went well accordingly to plan until two students from the nearby sorcery school named Hexley Hall came running in, causing many princes to stand up angrily, and Lucinda glancing left and right in total confusion.

"You two again?!" James growled, clenching his fists.

"What do you want with us?!" Prince Desmond demanded, stretching his arms out in front of Sofia.

"Haven't you caused enough problems for us when you decided to fill our school with bubbles?" A Prince named Fredrick accused.

Zandar narrowed his eyes in warning. "If you plan on doing that, you'll find that we are ready this time." He took on a defensive stance.

"Wai...wait...wait!" One of the students stuttered out with her hands in the air. "We're not here to cause any trouble!"

"Who are they?" Lucinda inquired curiously.

"Students from Hexley Hall." Desmond answered with a frown. "They come to Royal Prep yearly during Hexley Hall Prank Day. They once tried to fill the school with bubbles but Sofia put a stop to that." At Sofia's incredulous look he quickly added. "With some help of course."

By then, the girl had already recovered from her breathlessness. She still kept her hands up to prove her point that she wasn't a threat. James wasn't convinced just yet. "Listen to me. You have to! I know what I did last year and I am sorry! I am truly sorry for all that!" She ratted off. One could tell that she was frightened and nervous at being stared by one if not three angry princes that were ready to tear her to shreds. She took out her wand and tossed it aside to further prove her point. "I am not here to cause any pranks!" She sank to her knees and sobbed. "I swear..."

"Amy's right..." The other student said softly. "You have to trust us..."

"Elliot has went bonkers! Totally nuts! It was so unlike him!" Amy blurted out. "He's threatening to blow up the entire school!" She looked towards her fellow student. "Tell them Kurt! Tell them what Elliot said to you!"

Kurt shuffled his feet nervously. "Well...He told me that he wanted to plant a firecracker in the basement of Royal Prep so that the whole of Hexley Hall could enjoy the fireworks, and he wasn't bluffing either, I could see the _look_ in his eyes. He wanted me to join him in the prank, but I knew it was dangerous and I swore an oath last year that I would leave you all alone and never prank again. So I told him no. He left angrily and refused to talk to me, saying something that the princes and princesses will get what's coming to them. I ran immediately and told the Headmaster about Elliot's insane plot. He instructed me to come here and warn the Headmistresses of Royal Prep, it turned out that Amy had overheard everything and was determined to come with me, and here we are." He recounted the events.

"So where are the Headmistresses?" Amy asked anxiously.

"Um..." Sofia started and shot a glare at her brother and Desmond to silence them. "The Headmistresses are away for the annual fairy convention, leaving our friend, Lucinda, a fellow Princess. Hailing from the Kingdom of Corona." She answered, still glaring at her other classmates. She tilted her head curiously when she noticed that both Kurt and Amy were staring at Lucinda with wide eyes, whispering her title softly and she watched in amazement as Kurt joined Amy on the ground, keeping his head bowed. "I take it you know her." She asked.

"Not personally, no." Kurt answered, keeping his head lowered. "Name's Kurt Longbottom, at your service, Your Highness."

"Amy Granger, a half-blood witch." Amy introduced herself. "It's a real honor to stand before you, Your Highness."

"Ah...um...the honor's all mine." Lucinda replied, urging the two to stand. "So what is this I hear about your friend. Elliot is it?" Both Kurt and Amy bobbed their heads up and down. "Any ideas where we can find him?" She inquired, her face serious and her tone clearly meant to the others that she wasn't playing.

"I'm not too sure, Your Highness." Amy replied honestly. "Elliot has his own hideout that we don't even know."

"He could be anywhere!" Kurt proclaimed. "We have to stop him. He may be our friend but I won't hesitate to use my wand against him if I have to." He added swiftly.

Sensing the repentance of the two pranksters. James shared a glance with Zandar, Fredrick and Desmond, before the four of them stood up glared at those who were about to argue. "We'll offer whatever aid you desire. You two are masters of pranks and antics. You know Elliot's movements. You know his fears. And you know him personally." James spoke for the four. "So let me ask you one question. How can we prank another prankster?" He said gruffly. All eyes now shifted from James to the two former troublemakers.

"Elliot is playful at times." Kurt answered truthfully. "But he can be quite serious if he wants to."

"Bubbles. He likes bubbles." Amy piped in. "He gets distracted by them easily..." She trailed off.

"Relax Amy." Princess Vivian reassured from her seat. "You are among friends here."

Amy nodded. "I know..." She said softly. "But the things I've done to you all..."

"Is in the past." Fredrick interrupted before any of the other princes could. He gave a hard cold gaze towards any who would speak out against them. "She is sorry for her errors. Can't you all just give her another chance. Kurt too. If the two of them are willing to turn on their friend and stop all these pranks, they can consider me an ally. I would gladly stand by their side if it truly meant a stop to the pranks." He stated confidently. Lucinda gave him a nod of approval for his actions which he returned firmly, he saw James and Zandar nodding along to his speech and Desmond moving to stand by Kurt's side. "Right. Without further ado, what's our plan?"

Kurt looked thoughtful. "First, we have to ensure that all the other students are safely away. I don't want to risk any injuries if Elliot's prank gets way too overboard and destroy the entire school." He suggested. He was relived to see that many of the royal students were satisfied with his idea. "Second, we have to find a way to lure Elliot out of his hiding spot. Corner him and take him down by force if necessary. I would rather put an end to his pranks by the means of diplomacy but if it gets out of hand..."

"We'll figure something out." Lucinda piped in. "I would rather settle this matter peacefully than harming another student from a different school, let's just try to settle this as calmly as we can. As you said before, this Elliot is playful, so we may be able to use that to our advantage." She added. "But we'll go with your plan first Kurt. The younger students and those whom are not involved must be within a safe distance from the school." She pointed out.

Sofia pondered for a minute. "After the alliance treaty that was signed between Corona and Enchancia, a small regiment of Coronain knights are present in the village of Dunwiddie and around the countryside, the nearest being the one in that fort." She pointed her finger towards the castle in the distance. "It'll take them at least two hours to ready their horses and arrive." She said slowly. "That's if we manage to get a message out from Royal Prep."

Lucinda started grinning like a fool. "That's where Rune comes in. I can scribble a message and have him deliver it to the fort." She explained excitedly.

"That's an excellent idea Lu!" James agreed almost immediately. "Go and do just that." Lucinda pulled him in for a peck on the lips, leaving him stunned and the entire class laughing at the small sweet gesture. He touched his lips as Lucinda disappeared in a whirl, and cleared the desk of unimportant papers as Desmond approached with an entire map of Royal Prep, which the said prince kept after a small encounter with an evil fairy. "Here's what we're going to do. Sofia. Vivian. Clio. You three are in charge of gathering the other students and getting them to safety, get them to the forest and hide out until the situation clears out. No matter what. The younger students MUST leave the school premises. If the older students wish to help us then by all means let them. We need as much manpower as we can get." The three princesses gave him a firm nod as they left with the other students in tow, those that remained consisted of Zandar, Fredrick and Desmond. "Right now we need to-?!" He was interrupted by the sight of his twin sister. "Amber? Aren't you supposed to be in class?"

"And isn't Lucinda supposed to be teaching you magic?" Amber retorted with a roll of her eyes. "Sofia came into our class and demanded for those whom did not feel capable in holding a sword or a wand to leave the school premises, well, only three left. The rest are here." She gestured to the crowd standing behind her. "This is our school and unlike last time, we're more than ready to play our part." She nodded at James' smile. "So where do you need us, James?"

"Around the school." James replied, his eyes returning to gaze at the map. "I need one group at the entrance and another in the Headmistresses office. Who knows what Elliot might be thinking of? He might be after the spell book for all we know. From what Kurt had told us, Elliot plans to plant a firecracker in the basement, so we'll need another group there as well. And after what happened in the greenhouse two years ago, I don't want another repeat about being stabbed from within." Amber nodded in agreement. Desmond coughed. "Right. We don't want to end up like Desmond, whom saved us all by jumping onto Miss Nettle and wrestling the wand out of her hand and getting trapped in the process." He smiled sheepishly.

Amber ignored her brother's antics and turned to face the others. "Hilde. Jun. Take half of the crowd with you and hold down the Headmistresses office." She pulled out her own wand and held it tightly. "The rest of you will hold the main entrance. Hugo, you're with me. We're taking the basement. Let's move out." James grabbed her arm before she could make a move and held her tight, taking her totally by surprise but she returned the hug nonetheless.

"Take care sis." James whispered into her ear.

"You as well, brother." Amber whispered back, the two siblings parted and smiled.

* * *

Lucinda returned to the classroom after sending her pet falcon with a missive of great importance, the first thing she saw had her smiling widely. Four princes and two former pranksters leaning over the table and discussing their next move in hushed tones, she decided to play along and placed her hands on her hips, narrowing her eyes dangerously as she approached. "I bumped into Amber along the way here and she told me what was going on, and I didn't believe it until I saw it with my own eyes. The six of you working together?" She asked incredulously, pointing an accusing finger towards James. "Who are you? And what have you done to my betrothed?!" She demanded causing nervous snickers and chuckles going around the table at James' facial expression.

Desmond rolled his eyes and answered. "We decided to put those rivalries and hatred behind us for good. A wise girl once told me; 'The more anger towards the past you carry in your heart, the less you are capable of loving in the present'." Everyone gave a nod of agreement. "Thus, we will work together to stop Elliot. One way or another."

"Let me guess, that girl is none other than our Sofia?" Lucinda shook her head in wonder and amazement at the words of her friend.

"I meant no disrespect of course," Amy said with a glare towards Kurt. "But any plan with Kurt in it, will only end in chaos." She muttered.

"Hey, we have a new plan now!" Kurt retorted with a pout.

"Fine, indulge me with this brilliant plan of yours."

Kurt bowed dramatically. "Considering the fact that our dear Elliot loves to play with bubbles, we will conjure as much bubbles as we can and lure him to the massive field right in front of Royal Prep. Once he's there. We will use our sticking spell and stick him to the ground. That is Plan A. If that were to fail, we have another plan, but it might hurt Elliot a little." He used his fingers to show a small margin. "Just a little bit. We'll lure him into the greenhouse with the same technique, and once he's in there, Prince Desmond will sprinkle some Venomous Tentacula seeds and hopefully the plant will scare him to submission...and we have to destroy the plant later." He finished with a grin.

"I like Plan A better." Lucinda concluded with nods from Amy and those present. "Try not to hurt him in any way. He is your friend after all." She pointed out. Kurt nodded in embarrassment. "Right! Let's get to work! Time for the prankster to get pranked!" She proclaimed as the others set off to see it done.

* * *

And that is exactly what they did. Kurt and James teamed up and hid themselves behind the stables as they waited for Elliot to take the bait. Amy and Lucinda started spraying bubbles all over the vast field with hopes of Elliot falling for the trap, Zandar and Fredrick hid behind the clock tower, constantly popping their heads out to take a glance. Sofia, Vivian and Clio waited outside the school compound with the other younger students, their fingers twitching nervously as they watched their friends taking positions across the ground and yet they can't lift a finger to help them without abandoning the younger students. Desmond grabbed his bag of seeds from his bag and waited via the greenhouse just in case the first plan went downhill, he breathed slowly as he leaned his head against the door leading outside, his hands playing with the seeds. Hildegard and Jun stared anxiously at each other, they and four others were in the Headmistresses office with wands at the ready, their fingers tightened around their wands at the silence around them. Amber and Hugo hid behind a wall directly beside the stairs leading to the basement, according to what Amy and Kurt had said about Elliot's plan, the stairs will be the only entrance. Everyone was prepared to do what was necessary to defend Royal Prep. Everything was in place.

The only thing that they all hated was - Waiting.

It was then a high-pitched voice that sounded eerily familiar resonated across Royal Prep, Kurt and Amy narrowed their eyes when they spotted their friend, their plan in luring Elliot out into the open had worked perfectly as of now. Before going through with the plan, Kurt urged James and other royal students to remain hidden while he and Amy confront their friend, and if they failed in producing a sticky charm, then the royals would enter the fray. Amy gave a signal to Kurt, and the two of them emerged from their hiding spots, their wands pointed with magic flaring at the tip, their eyes carefully studying Elliot's reaction. Elliot, as it turned out was already prepared for them and turned around, smiling widely and twirling his wand in his hands.

"Finally decided to stand with me?" Elliot trailed off innocently.

"No." Amy answered coldly. Her wand trained on her friend. "We came to stop you! Stop you from carrying out your dangerous plan!"

"Oh and what do you plan to do about it mudblood?" Elliot retorted. Amy looked hurt at the direct insult that had both Kurt and Lucinda growling.

"DON'T YOU DARE INSULT AMY!" Kurt growled darkly as magic gathered at the tip of his wand.

"Ah! Longbottom to the rescue!" Elliot said with a bright smile before it was replaced with a frown. "As always, like your father before you." He sneered.

"This is between you and me Elliot. Leave Amy out of this!" Kurt said in a menacing voice, taking one step forward. "When I befriended you I always thought you would respect all no matter the differences in blood, but now I see that I was misguided and blinded by your stupidity! I always believed that I could sway your misguided mind that not everything is what you have believed to be, I tried introducing you to the arts of the mundane world, at first it was working but then...you snapped." His voice had gotten softer and softer. "What happened to you Elliot? You were never like this. You were always willing to try out new things. You were never-?!" He was interrupted by fire that suddenly shot out of Elliot's wand, causing him to jump back in surprise.

"Stay out of my mind Kurt!" Elliot snapped violently, his eyes blazing with fury.

"Elliot, please, I'm begging you!" Amy cried, her tears falling freely now. "Stop this madness!"

"Why should I?!" Elliot barked, as rocks started to swirl around him. "You don't understand what I have to do..."

"Talk to us then!" Kurt yelled, trying one more time to get his friend to see reason. "We can help you."

"YOU CAN'T!" Elliot roared, sending the rocks flying towards a stunned Amy. Lucinda decided she had seen enough and leaped to Amy's defense, lifting up her two hands and producing a shield large enough to hold them both while the rocks fell to dusts around them. Elliot blinked and growled ferociously. "What? That's impossible!"

"Anything is possible, if you have the heart to see it." Lucinda retorted coldly, she signaled James and the others to show themselves. "Stand down Elliot, you have lost."

Elliot took a step back when he saw several more royal students appearing from the school main entrance, he snapped his wand towards the new arrivals but doubled back in shock when he saw even more younger students rushing at him angrily. Sofia gave a sheepish smile towards her brother when she joined him, explaining that the young ones wanted to help their seniors and she was out-voted and had no choice but to allow them to enter the school. Clio, Vivian, Fredrick and Zandar ran to Lucinda's side, taking their positions. Hildegard and Jun ran down the steps of Royal Prep brandishing their wands along with countless of others. Elliot soon found himself surrounded on all sides by two school mates and several enraged princesses and princes. Though outnumbered, Elliot wasn't about to back down easily and pointed his wand towards Lucinda, muttering out the spell that got Amy gasping in shock as Lucinda went rigid and fell to the ground, screaming in excruciating pain.

At the sight of his betrothed suffering, James lost all control. "Let's take him!" He growled as the other princes roared in agreement at the usage of force.

"I have a wand and I know magic." Elliot spat proudly, sending out spell after spell. "And you all may have wands but your magic is weak! You need further proof? That princess is one of them! Look how pathetic she is." He howled with laughter as many frowned and glared at him. James growled and charged forward only to be struck back by Elliot's fast reaction, but when he used another spell, his previous spell acting on a certain princess was all but forgotten. He was too busy laughing at the plight the royal students were facing that he did not notice Lucinda, pushing herself up, wiping a small tinkle of blood from her lips and extending her right hand. His eyes suddenly went wide. His wand clattered to the grass. His two hands immediately went to his neck as he started choking himself, everyone stared at him in confusion. His entire body was lifted a few feet into the air. He kicked his legs and tried his best to gasp for air but to no avail, his eyes then rolled back in his head as his body fell limp, Lucinda then lowered her hand and his body fell to the grass.

Lucinda fell to her knees and sobbed. She had just used a dark spell. She allowed her dark emotions to fuel her powers, going against everything that Gretel and the fairies had taught her, her hatred for Elliot, her anger towards him for causing her pain, and her fear for her friends caused her to use a spell that she swore never to use no matter what. Tears sprang down from her cheeks as she sobbed silently. Sofia, Amber and the others dared not approach even when their arms were aching to help her up, they knew that she needed someone she trusted and there was none other than her future husband. Through her tears, she felt strong arms around her neck and knew that James had reached her side, she could hear his soft whispers telling her that it was all over as she tried her best to calm down. She watched through teary vision as Kurt and Amy secured Elliot using ropes, Kurt fought the urge to snap the wand there and then and he would have if Amy didn't knock some sense into him.

Lucinda hugged her knees. "Oh...what have I done?" She whimpered softly.

James stared at her. "You did it in self-defense. He hurt you. And you did it to him because you cared for us. I can't fault you for that."

"What of the others?" Lucinda bit her lower lips.

"We can't judge you for that." Zandar added from his position behind James. "According to Kurt and Amy, you just went through the most darkest spell ever known in the arcane arts, they couldn't explain how it felt like but from the looks on your face, we knew exactly how that felt. And we wouldn't blame you for going all kingdom come on Elliot."

Any other further conversations were halted when twenty horsemen bearing the emblem of Corona came riding in. Kurt and Amy dragged an unconscious Elliot and explained to the best of their abilities what had transpired, the leader of the twenty men offered to escort them back to Hexley Hall which the two humbly accepted and said their farewells to their new found friends. Kurt could now officially boast to his friends in Hexley Hall that he was now friends with the royal students, he can't wait to see their reaction when he reveal this piece of information. Amy felt exactly the same but she was conflicted, in her entire life in Hexley Hall she hadn't felt much more at ease than she was before, in school, the pure-blooded students would call her nasty names and disrupt her work all because of her blood status. She felt like leaving Hexley Hall altogether and returning to a normal school where she would be treated as an equal, that was until Lucinda spoke to her in private, the Princess of Corona urged her to take a stand against her bullies, bide her time before striking and show no sign of backing down. And that was exactly what Amy did when she returned to Hexley Hall, she took Lucinda's advice to heart and only fought back when her tormentors got on her nerve, she went straight for the one that talked the most and summoned a vortex that sent the poor sod flying into another Kingdom. And there was also another incident where she shot flames at a Professor's face for mocking her new royal friends. But that is a story for another time. After Kurt and Amy had left with the soldiers, the Headmistresses returned and gasped at the surrounding before bombarding Lucinda for answers.

"There isn't trouble is there?" Miss Fauna asked glancing around at the minor destruction.

"Why is there blood on the ground?" Miss Merryweather demanded.

"Why is that patch of grass on fire?" Miss Flora added with a frown.

"Nope. Everything went well." Lucinda reassured with a sheepish grin, nudging James on the way.

"The fire has to do with our experiment." James threw in glancing towards his sisters for support.

"We have to calculate how strong the sun was." Sofia lied but wasn't that good at it.

"And we concluded that it was very powerful." Amber stated with a roll of her eyes.

The three fairies were not amused

"So .you did not need my help at all! You should have told..." Desmond's smile faded the instant he saw the three fairies, he slapped his own forehead.

"Busted..." Sofia sighed, and looked at her siblings. "Just give up already."

Lucinda, James and Amber glanced at each other and sighed. "It was actually a fight." They said together.

"We know." Miss Flora said. "We saw how you all worked together to lure out young Elliot and we listened on as young Kurt confronted his friend which turned out to be quite a fight." She smiled sweetly before turning to look at Lucinda in concern. "Are you alright, Lucinda? Do you require any healing potions?" Lucinda politely declined and proved to them that she could still walk without wincing in pain, the other two fairies might accept it, but Flora wasn't going to easily. "Oh, I don't think so. You've just experienced the most darkest magic ever known to Man, and yet you claim you're alright. No, I'll see for myself before I deliver judgement." Lucinda gaped and tried forming some words but can't due to the fact that Fauna had just sealed her lips tight. "You're not getting away from this one, young lady."

"Mmmm!" Lucinda grumbled and pouted, stomping her feet like a spoiled child. She looked at the fairies with her huge eyes, Fauna sighed and undid her spell. "Thank you, Miss Fauna." She inclined her head in gratitude. She turned to look at James. "You can go on first. I'll catch up later."

"Oh no. I'm not letting you out of my sight again." James chided as he tagged along much to Lucinda's dismay as another lecture started. "As a knight of the royal guard, I have every right to accompany you. And before you chase me away, might I remind you that we are betrothed which makes us literally husband and wife without benefits."

Sofia rolled her eyes at their banter. "So...Amber, should we go?" She asked.

"Let's." Amber agreed, casting a playful grin.

* * *

SPLAT!

"Arghhhh! Lucinda! Stop!" James screamed as he covered his face as Lucinda hurled a fresh barrel of mud towards him, he was still laughing when they came out of Royal Prep, thankfully, no one was present in the school when Lucinda tripped on her dress and fell bottom first down the stairs. Four steps. Yes, he counted. And when she stood up, rubbing her rear end tenderly, he started howling away like a puppy receiving its first bone, and of course, she retaliated by using the arcane arts. At first, Lucinda used water against him and noticed that he didn't mind water at all, she was still gritting her teeth and thinking of other ways to make him pay when she saw the mud, smirking evilly, she morphed the mud into a ball and hurled it towards James' face when he wasn't paying attention. The mud struck with deadly accuracy. And now, it was her turn to laugh. James gave a scowl as he wiped off the mud. "Ha-ha, very funny Lu." He commented when his eyes zeroed in on Lucinda's necklace. "Hey, does it always glow like that?"

Lucinda looked at her necklace in confusion. "No...As a matter of fact, I have never ever seen it glow before!" She stated, she felt the power resonating from the ruby and could feel the magic calling her to it, as if drawing her in. "Can you feel it?" She inquired, looking at her surroundings. "Something is pulling us..."

"Oh, please don't tell me that the necklace I picked for you is -?!" James' words died on his lips when he felt a tuck on his navel. "Okayyyyy...that's creepy."

"What's going on?!" Lucinda cried, holding James' right arm.

The wind started howling stronger than before as their vision blurred completely. The world around them started to spin. Before either of them could comment on anything, a bright flash of white light blinded their eyes for a second, even their ears started to ring. The wind died first, but there was a gentle cool breeze that remained blowing against their face, their vision returned slowly and the first thing that they noticed were their legs, buried under layers of thick white snow. Lucinda composed herself and waved her hands, effectively melting the snow around their legs before conjuring a shield large enough to hold them both, the shield provided the warm temperature that James badly needed. While James was still warming himself up, Lucinda took the moment to scout their surroundings, from left to right, all that greeted her was just pale white snow gleaming under the setting sun. Using one of the spells Gretel taught her, she enhanced her sight, hence granting her the ability to see even further than a normal mortal being, her eyes glowed blue as she studied the land. She was about to give up after seeing nothing but another barren wasteland of snow, that was when she spotted a small nomad village with several people running about their daily lives, she knew at once that the village was their only option.

"Where are we?" James asked the moment he got his blood running.

"Definitely not in the Northern Isles." Lucinda answered softly, she had remembered the entire map of the Northern Isles as clearly as the back of her hand. The castles and fortifications that dotted the Northern landscape could be seen every few miles, and now, she can't even find a single northern castle nor any of their forts. "I don't even think that we're in our own world." She added slowly. "Before you argue, take a minute to look around you. You and I both know that the Northern Isles is the only Kingdom that snows all seasons and you know for a fact that the rest of the continent follows the seasons, which the current is autumn." She stated firmly.

James took a look at their surroundings and had to agree. "Alright...so we're in another world? Another universe?"

"A one that is parallel to ours." Lucinda replied with a thoughtful gaze. "We won't know till we reach the village over the horizon." James stared at her as if she was crazy, for he can't see anything but snow. "Seriously James? After all the things I've learned? You can't see it without enhanced vision." She rolled her eyes.

"Guess we're walking then." James sighed as he emptied the contents of his bag. "Do your stuff, transfigure some fur cloaks for us. I don't plan on freezing to death."

Lucinda waved her hands over his books, and they slowly morphed into cloaks made out of animal fur. "We'd best get moving. It'll only last for five hours, don't ask me why. I'm still learning transfiguration and I'm not that good at it." She grudgingly admitted. James shared a laugh as the duo started moving in the direction of the village. She fingered her necklace. "I just don't get it. Why did my necklace glow?"

James scratched the back of his hair. "Um...well, the royal vault sure holds a lot of amulets and tiaras that had my mind spinning around, a day before the party hosted by Sofia, I knew I had to give you a parting gift. A gift fit for the girl of my dreams. At first, I chose a simple diamond necklace, thinking that this would definitely look good on you, when I caught a glimpse of another necklace hanging to the side." He smiled sadly as he gazed into the cool air. "It belonged to my mother. My grandfather had it hand-crafted in Wei-Ling and gave to her as a wedding gift, and when she...died, my father sealed the necklace away as it reminded him of her too much." Lucinda looked ready to remove the necklace from her neck, he noticed it and quickly grabbed hold of her hand, stopping her. "She would have wanted you to have it. She was always fascinated with the sea, like you. And believe me when I say that it suits you, it goes remarkably well with your blue dress."

Lucinda blushed. "Fine..." She smiled gently. "Our mothers might be gone from this world," She pointed to his heart, and placed her other hand over her own. "But they will continue to guide us and watch over us from in here." James smiled at her words which she returned. "We should keep moving." She stated after giving him a kiss.

Both James and Lucinda trudged through the thick layers of snow in silence, deciding to transfer their energy into making their way to the village instead of talking to each other, saving their stamina for the long distance ahead of them. The sun had barely set when they reached the outskirts of the village, they had taken a total of four hours walking and a few minutes of resting before they finally reached. James studied the village inhabitants and was shocked to find only children and female adults, Lucinda found it extremely odd that the male adults are totally missing from the entire village. They were both taken aback by surprise when they saw a huge furry beast at the other end of the village, Lucinda noted that the beast was a mixture between a bison and a dog, judging from its face and behavior, she also revealed to a surprised James that the beast they were staring at now does not exist in recorded human history. The truth struck them hard, that they were now travelers lost in another world.

"Come on, the earlier we're down there, the faster we can find answers. My legs are killing me." She started her descend, but just mere inches away from the village entrance, her head started to spin and she collapsed into the snow. James reached her side almost immediately. "Must...get..." She tried to get up but couldn't and her body went limp.

"LUCINDA!" James cried, cradling her head in his lap. "Anybody?! Help! I need help!" He screamed. His cries for help must have reached the village as a group of young children ran towards him, he looked up at them. "Please...help...her...she means everything to me." He begged.

He felt a soothing touch on his shoulder and turn to find a girl about the same age as Lucinda staring at him with her blue eyes. The girl was garbed totally in blue with the exception of the fur which was white, she signaled the other children to get the adults. The last thing he saw was her worried face before he too passed out from exhaustion.

* * *

Lucinda blinked her eyes twice, her vision slowly making a return as her surroundings became much more clearer, she struggled to sit up but a gentle hand immediately pushed her down. She looked up to see a girl gazing at her with a stern expression. "I wouldn't move too much if I were you," The girl said softly, her words were stern like a mother caring for her child but her eyes portrayed curiosity of a child. "Your legs fell 'asleep' due to exhaustion, your friend yelled his lungs for help and the two of you were fortunate that I was still outside with a couple of children, we heard a faint cry and rushed to investigate. We found the both of you just outside our home, your friend was cradling your head and begging us to help you at the risk of his own live. I had no intention to do that and told the other children to get the grown-ups to lend me a hand while I kept you two warm." Lucinda gave a small smile of gratitude which the girl returned. "Name's Katara by the way. Your friend has awoken just this morning, he's refusing to talk to anybody until you're awake."

"Thank you Katara." Lucinda spoke with sincerity. "For saving me."

Katara smiled and laughed. "I didn't do it alone. The other children helped. And my gran-gran was the one that fed you hot stew while you were out cold." Lucinda looked at her quizzically. "You were out for a total of three days." She explained. "But since you're awake, I want to ask you something."

"Ask away. I owe you some answers." Lucinda gave the go ahead.

Katara walked over to a shelf and pulled out several books. "When we carried you in here, your fur cloak disappeared in a burst of blue light and these books fell to the ground. I wanted to know whether you're a witch." Lucinda looked alarmed and worried. "You don't have to worry, my gran-gran is the Tribe Elder and since you're staying in her hut, the tribe won't harm you as you are considered a friend." She quickly said when she sensed the girl's fear. "Please, I need some answers. If you don't tell me, I can't help you if my brother goes crazy and starts calling you Fire Nation spies."

"Fire Nation?" Lucinda repeated with a confused expression. "I'm sorry, but I don't know anything about the Fire Nation. Who are they?"

"What?" Katara was taken aback, she sat down by the bedside and sighed. How would she explain this. She took a deep breath and opened her mouth. "The Fire Nation is one of the world's four nations and five sovereign states. It is an absolute monarchy led by the Fire Lord and home to most firebenders. Geographically, the nation is located along the planet's equator in the western hemisphere and is composed of several islands. For almost a hundred years, their military forces have wiped out the Air Nomads and conquered the Earth Kingdoms, and their constant raids on our tribe have left our people dwindling in great numbers." She stated with a sad gaze. "My mother died in one of their many raids, my father and all the men left the tribe to join in the war effort leaving us to rule what remained of our once great tribe."

Lucinda narrowed her eyes. "They sound like Southerners to me." She commented darkly. "They have been constantly harassing my father's forces, engaging them in naval battles around our Kingdom as they tried to expand their Kingdom, they believed that if they struck first than our Kingdom would be greatly weaken. My father and his northern allies corrected them when they smashed the Southern fleet at sea and then again at their own doorstep when they pulled down their towers and breached their walls. My father never liked to speak of his battles, but I learned from the other men what had transpired." She looked up at Katara with a sad smile. "I was wrongfully accused for misusing my spells and sentenced to die at the stake, moments before the flames could take me, the largest army I have ever seen attacked the village and freed me. I learned at a later date that my father invaded the South to free me, he killed because he didn't want me to die, and I loved him for that." She ignored Katara's earlier warning and pushed herself to sit, groaning as she did. "What I'm trying to say is...don't ever, ever treat your father like an outcast because he left. You will never know the feelings inside his heart when he left to fight in a war in order for you to live a better life, for you and your tribe. Every time I wake up and see him smiling, I would continue the day in content knowing that I was the reason that he smiled."

Katara bit her bottom lip. "I never thought about it this way..." She lowered her gaze.

"And to answer your earlier question about me being a witch, well, does this satisfy you?" Lucinda inquired, moving her hand slowly as she transfigured the books back into a fur cloak, she resisted the urge to giggle at Katara's wide eyes. Katara was about to speak when she raised her hand, her ears were sharper than any human being due to her days as a witch. "Something's coming." She stated.

Suddenly, screams could be heard coming from outside.

"Stay here and don't come out." Katara shoved Lucinda down and ran outside.

Lucinda gave an annoyed huff and pushed herself up. She walked slowly towards the exit and sucked in a large breath of air at the sight of a huge ship, she watched silently as a ramp was lowered and several soldiers rushed forward before parting to allow a single figure to approach, she narrowed her eyes when the figure spread his arms as flames shot out of his hands. The children huddled close together, hugging each other, whimpering and crying. The figure grabbed an elderly woman from Katara's grasp and spoke some words that she couldn't hear from her location, but she had already made up her mind, she had seen enough. Taking Gretel's words to mind, she wished herself to be at the front and a surge of blue light she vanished completely, the blue light surged through the air and struck the very figure that grabbed the elderly woman, knocking him back several feet. Katara and her entire tribe watched in amazement as the blue light disappeared revealing an angry Lucinda, her eyes were narrowed and lightning surrounding her hands. Several soldiers tried to rush at her, she simply swept her right arm and the soldiers screamed as they flew several feet into the air. She glanced left and noticed the other soldiers approaching, she pulled water droplets from the air and hurled them towards the oncoming soldiers, freezing them completely in solid ice. Turning her head back, she gave a curt nod towards Katara which the girl returned. She turned her glare towards the figure that had just stood up with his mouth agape.

"LEAVE THESE PEOPLE ALONE!"

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **It appears that both James and Lucinda are pulled into the Avatar universe for a short period of time, there will be crossovers between their two worlds for a few more chapters as I wanted Lucinda to have a sister-relationship with someone that understands her, and I can't think of anybody else but Katara. Don't worry, they'll return to their world in the next chapter. More details about Lucinda's necklace will be revealed in due time.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

 **New Friends**

"LEAVE THESE PEOPLE ALONE!"

Lucinda 'Magwin' Fitzherbert surely lived up to her step-father's anger when she ordered the Fire Nation soldiers to leave after giving them a kicking that they'll remember for a long time, not only did she defeat the normal soldiers, with just one swipe of her arm, five firebenders were hurled into the freezing ocean as if it were nothing. The figure, now revealed to be a teenager with a very bad scar on his left eye stared at her with his mouth agape, she narrowed her eyes dangerously as her magical energy swirled around her. A brave soldier hurled his spear towards her, she smirked as her training with the royal guards kicked in, she moved her head slightly and took hold of the spear and hurled it back. The spear swirled past the scared teenager and struck the leg of the very same soldier that threw it in the first place, the soldier fell to the ground, clutching his wounded knee in agony. Remembering her training with Hansel and the royal guards, she took on a defensive stance, awaiting her opponents to make a move, and when they did she merely smiled and slammed her fist down and the ground caved in beneath them. Katara and the entire tribe stared with wide opened eyes, Lucinda, a girl that they barely knew had just defeated a Fire Nation raiding party with her bare hands. The other soldiers immediately threw down their weapons and backed away slowly, none of them wanted to end up like their comrades. Flashing Katara a quick smile, Lucinda approached slowly, letting her gaze sweep across the various wounded and frightened soldiers until her eyes fell upon the teenager, she could tell at first glance that this teenager was their leader, she glared at him and pointed a finger.

"You there! Order your men to stand down." She stated confidently.

"How dare you?!" The teenager roared at her. "Do you have any idea who I am? I am the son of the Fire Lord, you should be showing me some respect!"

Lucinda rolled her eyes and took one defiant step forward. "Do you exactly _know_ who you're messing with?" She countered angrily, eyeing the 'son of the Fire Lord' opposite her with much distaste, she stood to her full height. "Allow me to indulge you. I'm Lucinda 'Magwin' Fitzherbert, Crown Princess of the Kingdom of Corona and Duchess of the Northern Isles, daughter of His Imperial Majesty, Erik the First, King of Corona and King in the North! And as of this moment, these people are under our protection!" She spoke in a voice which she rarely used, it was the voice of the Queen growing inside of her, the voice that she would definitely need when she takes the throne. Her magical energy swirled around her as she raised her voice, the earth rumbled at her speech as the wind howled loudly. "I won't ask you again. Order your men to stand down. Or else, I will destroy that very vessel and sink it to the bottom of the sea, every soul is now in your hands." As if to prove her point, she lifted the ship by its stern and tilted it to the right causing screams of terror from the sailors and soldiers on board, she narrowed her eyes and the ship's haul began to crack and slowly tore itself apart. "I will count to three. One. Two. Thre-!"

"Stand down!" The teenager yelled, and his soldiers complied with his orders. "Enough! Just let us go!" He pleaded, falling to his knees.

Lucinda slowly released her hold and the ship fell back into the water, she stalked up towards the kneeling teen and grabbed him by his collar. "Now, listen to me very carefully mister! The Fire Nation must renounce all claims to the Southern Water Tribe, from this time until the end of time they will be a free and independent tribe." Katara and her tribe watched as Lucinda exchanged words with the teen, and they were impressed by her skills in diplomacy. "Should you refuse..." She took a deep breath and said the few words that she heard from her father during one of his many meetings with the Southern Isles. "I will litter the land with Fire Nation dead."

The teen lowered his gaze. "You have my word...the Fire Nation will never raid this tribe again."

"Good, now get out of my sight!" Lucinda responded by hurling him to the ground. "And the thing you said about respect, here's what I have to say. Respect is earned not given freely." She added as an afterthought. The teen got up and refused to meet her gaze as he ran to the ship. The entire tribe cheered as the Fire Nation soldiers turned around and ran up the ramp of their ship, fear gripping their hearts and terror in their eyes.

Lucinda folded her arms and watched as the ship slowly made its way away from the shore after picking up their fellow mates that fell into the freezing water, she nodded her head before the numbness from before returned and she tumbled into the snow. Katara pushed past several children and immediately rushed to her side. "I told you not to exert your force too much!" She chided sternly but Lucinda could tell that she was smiling happily that her tribe was safe. "Thank you for saving us, without your help, I don't even know how we could fight back. So thanks." She whispered, she then looked towards a boy who had a pony-tail and looked exactly like her only that he was taller, Lucinda knew at first glance that the boy was none other than Katara's brother. "I told you they aren't Fire Nation spies Sokka! If she were why would she risk her life to save ours, she could have just let them take Aang and stay hidden. No, I don't care what you're going to say anymore! She saved our tribe and if that doesn't make her a friend, I don't know what will!" She was surprised to hear her brother laughter.

"I was about to say thank you to our guest."

"Oh..." Katara looked embarrassed for snapping at her brother. She composed herself and managed to look serious. "Can you go check on Aang and our other guest?"

"Fine," Sokka replied, he bowed his head. "Thanks...for saving our tribe." He directed his words to Lucinda, and she smiled in return.

"Nice brother you got there." Lucinda commented once Sokka was away from earshot.

Katara sighed. "Sometimes he can be a pain in my butt..." She admitted. "But he's still my brother."

Lucinda leaned her head back. "I wish I had a sibling like you." She said with a sad sigh.

An idea snapped inside Katara's head. "Well, you have me. I would gladly be your sister, that's if you'll have me." She suggested, gasping when Lucinda shot up and threw her arms around her neck, the duo laughed as they tumbled into the snow. They stayed in the snow for a minute, just staring at the Fire Nation ship as it sailed further and further away. If Lucinda hadn't intervene like she did, the soldiers would have discovered the Avatar and put the entire tribe to the torch, Katara shuddered at the thought of a raid happening all over again but she knew that the Fire Nation had tasted a sense of defeat and witnessed a power that even she knew not, they would never dare set foot in the South Pole again. "We should probably get you back to your bed." She said, pulling Lucinda to her feet just as Sokka returned with both Aang and James.

"Lucinda! Thank the Divines you're alright!" James rushed forward and hurled himself upon Lucinda.

"You too, James." Lucinda replied, stroking his hair gently.

James parted from the hug and bit his lips guiltily. "Sorry if I wasn't there at your side, I had to look after Aang." He gestured to the bald boy with strange arrow tattoos on his head and arms, he was garbed in orange robes that could be mistaken as a monk from Wei-Ling. The boy waved his hand excitedly. "Turns out he was the one that the soldiers were after. Something about him being the Avatar, the only person that could master all four elements and defeat the Fire Nation, at least that was what he told me when I was guarding him. He was frozen in an iceberg for a hundred years; he later emerged with the help from Sokka and his sister, still biologically twelve years old, into a world engulfed by war." He added, sensing pity pouring out from Lucinda's heart. "I know how you feel. About being the only one left..." He spoke slowly, his own fists clenched at his side. "I want to help them win this war and destroy this Fire Nation, but we're just two teenagers, lost in another universe with no way back." He mumbled just as Lucinda frowned, and then. "OW! Why did you to that for?!" He grumbled, rubbing his forehead.

Lucinda folded her arms after flicking James on the forehead. "Have you forgotten what my father told you? _'Never let a stumble in the road be the end of the journey.'_ You're a knight of the royal guards for Divines' sake! And a true knight never gives up. So, let me ask you, are you a knight or are you a boy?" Her response was James standing a little taller and giving her a curt nod. "I knew you had it in you." She punched him lightly on the chest before turning towards Katara. "Well, now that's settled. We really do need to have a place to talk in private. Just between the five of us, since the two of us are now sisters..." She giggled at James' wide eyes and Sokka's accusing fingers, she rolled her eyes. "Yes. We are sisters, in all but blood." To prove their point, Katara walked towards her and they held hands, challenging the others to question their decision. James recovered from his shock first and gave a warm smile, Sokka nearly fainted while Aang just smiled all the way. "Since Katara is now my sister, I trust her and she trusts you, so I'm fine if you attend this meeting." She indicated her head at Aang, and the young monk nodded his head in return. "So about a place...?"

"We can use gran-gran's hut." Katara said, the others readily agreed.

* * *

"Wait, let me get this straight." Sokka said with his eyes wide. "The two of you." He pointed towards Lucinda and James. "Are from an entirely different universe? How is that even possible?" He cried, folding his arms and demanding an answer. Katara groaned and splashed some water into his face. "Why did you do that for?" He grumbled.

Katara glared at him. "Let them finish or you'll be washing your own socks from now on." She growled. Sokka wisely chose to remain quiet. "I'm sorry, you may continue."

Lucinda smiled in gratitude. "Like I said, we were brought to your world by this necklace." She pointed to her necklace that once belonged to James' mother. "We were walking out from school when all of a sudden, it glowed. In the three years that I held this necklace, never before had it shown any signs of glowing. The wind howled so strong that I couldn't even lift my head, then there was a bright light that blinded my sight and my ears started to ring, the next thing I knew, my feet was buried under several layers of white snow. At first, I thought we had somehow transported ourselves to the Northern Isles, but when I glanced around, I immediately noticed one difference. The Northern Isles is dotted with castles and forts, crowded with northerners every single day, but when I looked around...I can't find a single building." She continued, casually forming shapes in the air with water. "Unlike James, I was born with a powerful magical aura, I can easily master any spell even the most strongest one within a few days while it took others months, years even to fully comprehend the elements. We spent at least four hours trying to reach your tribe, that was when I fainted and you know the rest." She looked towards James and the two silently nodded their heads. "We are still trying to figure out a way to journey home and in the mean time, any work that you want us to do, please just ask. We won't hesitate to lend you a hand. Our titles truly mean nothing out here."

"The tribe will definitely appreciate your help." Katara answered on behalf of her tribe, considering the fact that she was the Tribe Elder's grand-daughter.

"To be frank, your tribe sure can make use of some cannons." James' suggestion was met with blank stares apart from Lucinda banging her head on the table.

"What's a canon?" Sokka asked, totally confused. Even Katara looked curious and eager to find out.

Lucinda waved her hand, conjuring an image of seven knights approaching the field, on the opposite of the army were just four men standing with an odd looking barrel on wheels but it was made totally out of cold metal. "True. Magic can dominate the field of battle, but there is one thing that normal humans can do much more better than my spells, this is just one of them. What you see here is one of my father's finest project, the 12-pounder gun or in other words, a cannon. This weapon can pack quite a punch when unleashed upon the field, this very weapon changed the way wars were fought ever since they were introduced. Currently, they form the main armament of my father's vast naval fleet, though their main weapons were the larger 24 and 32 pound cannon, capable of shattering the hulls of enemy warships and killing the gun crews with a deadly shower of splinters. The mighty Southern fleet were brought to heel by these very weapons, but I'm going off track." She snapped her fingers as the figures in the image started to move. "It's best that you witness it with your own eyes."

The knights were now charging the field, their swords and spears all sharpen and ready to spill the guts of the small company of foot-soldiers atop the hill. But the men on the hill showed no signs of fright, one of them lifted his right arm while the others adjusted the cannon so that it was aimed properly, the one with his arm raised suddenly brought down his arm and another soldier quickly lighted the end of the barrel with a long stick. The four soldiers covered their ears and ducked. A bright light that looked like an explosion could be seen as a huge metal ball went flying towards the mounted knights, the image seemed to slow, and everyone watched as the ball struck the ground causing a massive explosion. The knights and their mounts were hurled all around, those that were near the flames were instantly burned to death, while the others struggled to stand whilst burning in their armor, screaming mentally for aid. The image then changed, this time with more cannons and everyone stared in amazement apart from James and Lucinda as the cannons fired all at once, bringing down the walls of a once mighty castle allowing the foot soldiers to enter. Just to cheer their spirits up a little, Lucinda managed to conjure the exact same Fire Nation vessel and allowed them to watch a simulated naval battle between the vessel and a Coronain frigate. She resisted laughing at Sokka's facial reactions when the frigate opened fire on one broadside, immediately damaging the vessel's haul before it slammed directly next to it. Coronain knights soon crossed and fought against the sailors, effectively wiping them out, she conjured her father ripping down the Fire Nation banner and setting it alight.

"Who is that?" Sokka asked, a grin spread across his face as he watched the Fire Nation banner burn. "I think I'm in love..."

Lucinda giggled and rolled her eyes. "That's my father. The King of Corona." She smiled proudly at the conjured figure. She vanished the conjured images completely and leaned back on her chair. "That was just a small fraction of our military might." Both she and James laughed at the priceless facial expressions on the other three. "That was exactly James' reaction when I told him that! What I just showed you was merely a mere one percent of our total strength, if I were to throw in the various vassal lords and the northern army...even I will be at a lost." She admitted with a sigh. "But enough of all that, I think its time for a proper introduction, a little back story about our lives don't you think?" The others readily agreed, she straightened her back and stared at everyone.

"You already know my name and the fact that I'm from another universe and part royalty, but I was not always so. Barely a year ago, an illness took my mother from me...and I lost it, I was so distraught by her death that I ran away, abandoning everything, I just wanted to start afresh and anew. I settled in a small village in the Southern Isles, the small community took me in even when they knew I was a witch, but then a group of rouge witches attacked the village and kidnapped all of the children leaving me alone. Fingers were pointed and I was accused. Those people that I trusted...turned on me." Katara and James reacted instantly and took hold of her hands, she took slow breaths and continued. "They held me on trial and sentenced me to death, they snapped my only link to my magical core rendering me powerless. Moments before my execution arrows rained down from the rooftops as knights on horses came in from all sides, the village stood no chance...everyone, the guards, the people, the governor...they were all killed. My father did all that to save me. He invaded a Kingdom to save me. I owe him a debt that I can never ever repay."

"Wow...I don't even know what to say." Sokka commented, his usual jovial expression gone. "When me and Katara were young, our mother was killed...We...we were playing in the snow when the snowflakes turned black. Many of the warriors had seen the black smoke before, and they knew what it meant, a Fire Nation raid. We were badly outnumbered but somehow we managed to drive them off. As quickly as they came, they just left...I was so relieved when it was over but that was because I didn't know what had happened. I didn't know we lost our mother." He lowered his gaze as if fighting back his tears. Aang noticing this, placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"She told me to go." Katara admitted. "And I listened, I ran to find our father and when we returned..."

Lucinda grabbed her hand. "Katara...I am so sorry for your loss..." She apologized.

"Don't be, you suffered more than us. You lost your mother and nearly lost your own." Katara replied, sniffing softly.

"I lost my birth father at a very young age." Lucinda stated, causing James to jump slightly. She smiled weakly at the others. "Didn't tell you that I was adopted huh?" She returned her gaze to the ground of the hut, her eyes starting to drop tears. Her lips started to quiver. "I...I just..."

"Shh...just let it all out." Katara said soothingly, allowing Lucinda to cling on to her. "Just...just let it all out." She added softly.

"We'll leave you two alone." James spoke, his heart couldn't take it anymore. Once they were outside, he pulled Sokka aside. "Sokka...I need you to tell me everything you know about that raid that killed your mother." Sokka looked at him, confused at his request. "If we are doomed to remain here, I want something that drives me on."

* * *

After leaving both Katara and Lucinda alone, Aang opted to wait outside until they were finished with their own personal time and urged James and Sokka to take a walk, which they did. James silently watched as the children moved about, helping the adults repair the tents that the Fire Nation soldiers toppled over when they were searching for Aang, if Lucinda hadn't intervene as she did the outcome would have been different. He shuddered at the mere thought of it. As the two gazed out onto the snowy tundra, Sokka revealed what he recalled about the raid that took away his mother, he studied James' reaction and found that the stranger whom he had believed to be a Fire Nation spy was instead hell bent on rooting out his mother's murderer. At Sokka's behest to find out why, why would James, a total stranger from another universe fight in a war that is totally not his to begin with, James merely sighed as he retold the tale of how the barbarians swept across the continent.

"When I was a young boy, I was always fascinated with knights and battles...that was until...until my grandfather told me the story of one of his many battles. My father was barely fresh out of his teenage years when the barbarian horde decided to invade our lands after remaining neutral for nearly fifty years, my grandfather, Roland the First, the King of our Kingdom then discovered that we had all been deceived by the truce that was signed before his reign as King. The truce was merely a means to weaken our defenses, allow our guard to be lowered while the barbarians gathered together in strength, various tribes uniting into one under a single chieftain." James did not hesitate as he said the very number that got Sokka gaping. "Ten thousand barbarians marched upon our soil, pillaging every single village along the way, our entire Kingdom was thrown into disarray. We only had six hundred knights, we were totally outnumbered and outmatched. Yet we fought on, we were soon reinforced by our ally, the Kingdom of Rudistan but even their total strength could not defeat the barbarian hordes. But then, a young prince, who had nothing to do with our war entered the fray with his own soldiers. 'He fought more like a beast than a man.' My grandfather told me that night. His name was Erik Fitzherbert, the current King of Corona and King in the North." He gave a lopsided grin as he faced Sokka. "Lucinda's step-father."

"So...this King Er...Erik.." The name rolled along Sokka's tongue as he was not familiar with the accent like Katara was. "He was the reason you chose to help?"

James smiled and nodded. "Barely a few days ago, after settling down and getting used to my surroundings in the castle, King Erik summoned me to his solar. As a anointed knight and his future son-in-law, I couldn't refuse the command. Upon arrival, he dismissed his guards and invited me to a game of chess." Sokka looked confused. "Um...I'll get Lucinda to conjure an image of one later. As I sat down across him, he started explaining to me. _'The whole world is like a chess, any move you make can mean the death of you. Remain where you started and you won't know your ending. Were you sure of your end once?'_ He asked me. I told him the honest truth. After Lucinda left, I imagined myself ruling Enchancia as a sole ruler and being buried in the crypts beneath the castle. And now I sit opposite a King. He laughed and smiled warmly. _'When I was fifteen, I found myself a lover. I imagined living my life fully with her. Now I know I shall live my life alone. You see, none of us know our end really, or what hand that guide us there. A King may move a man, a father may claim a son, but that man can also move himself, and only then does the man begin his own game. Remember howsoever you are playing, or by whom, your soul is in your keeping alone. Even those that played you be Kings or men with power. When you stand before the Divines, you cannot say 'But I was told by others to do thus,' or that virtue was not convenient at the time.'_ He told me that night. And I listened every single word carefully." He stood a little straighter and extended his hand to Sokka. "And I am making this my game. It is time my chess pieces move as one." Sokka smiled determinedly and took the hand.

* * *

 _ **Three days later...**_

It has been a total of six days since Lucinda and James were transported into another universe not counting the days they spent recovering, while searching for answers, the duo helped around the tribe, lending whatever aid they can. Every morning, the duo would help Sokka in his hunting trip before lending Katara a hand in sewing more warm clothes for the tribe, the afternoons were spent by honing their skills even further, in the evening they would huddle together with Aang and discuss about the possibilities of parallel worlds on the cosmic table. Following the tradiations of the South Pole, Katara sewed a bag made totally out of leather from the hostile tiger seals that lived in the South Pole and presented it to Lucinda, hence accepting her into the family. Feeling compelled to repay the kindness, Lucinda also made a bag with what little transfiguration she knows. With the help of Kanna - Katara's grandmother, she transfigured a traveling bag from the old clothes that Katara wore when she was younger and presented it to Katara in front of the entire tribe, moving the girl to tears. James was slowly giving up hope of ever returning to their universe, yet Lucinda was fairly convinced that there was a way that they could return, she was certain that they were summoned to this world for a reason. And she was proven right.

In the middle of their fifth night, Aang suddenly woke up with his eyes totally glowing white along with every single tattoo on his body, he spoke in a fairly deep voice and revealed that it was he that had summoned them, he needed two outsiders to see his world, to witness the destruction caused by the Fire Nation. Aang also admitted that both Katara and Lucinda's necklace were connected, both acting as an anchor to both worlds, allowing them to travel in between, and if both wearers were in the same world - the other world would cease moving and upon return it would appear as if no time had passed at all. He also granted them the very words that should be spoken in order to travel in between the worlds, granting Lucinda the power to travel in between the two worlds at her own pace.

Of course, when Aang woke up, he did not recall saying those words. But it was helpful nonetheless.

"Do you really think this is wise?" James spoke softly. "I mean...leaving these people to fend for themselves-?!" Over the past few days he had spent with the tribe, he had grown close to the people, especially the children, Aang and Sokka.

"We will come back to help them in this war. I swear that we will. I will not abandon these people." Lucinda replied, cutting his words off. "But not alone..." Her eyes narrowed as she touched her necklace. "Upon our return, I need to run some experiments with this necklace if what Aang...or whoever was controlling Aang said is true then it will be possible to travel in between the our universe and this. Once that is done and confirmed to be a reality, I will speak with the Headmistresses and Gretel and see whether or not we can bring an even larger amount of people when I travel, if that could be achieved..." She turned her head to face Katara, Sokka and Aang, she approached them slowly while staring at them, to show them she wasn't lying. "...then I swear that I will return with an army to help you win this war. Last night, Aang showed me the devastation that the Fire Nation soldiers wrecked upon the peaceful Air Nomads, killing them all effectively...the Earth Kingdom suffered the same fate but were able to retaliate in their own manner. Under normal circumstances, I would avoid killing people...but these Fire Nation soldiers had just made it personal." She spoke coldly before tilting her head towards James. "Of course, you don't have to accompany me-?!" She was cut off by his lips crashing to hers.

James parted from his surprise romantic attack and smiled. "You don't have to ask. I'm with you all the way. And who in their right minds wouldn't want fighting side by side with the Coronain Royal Army." He said, that was before Katara jabbed her finger at him.

"Let me be clear on a few things, I don't care if you are a Prince or a knight, but if you hurt her in anyway..." Katara swung her arms right, accidentally freezing Sokka's foot in solid ice. "Sorry!" She squeaked before turning her glare back to James. "Yea, you hurt her or break her heart then you should know that I'm an overprotective waterbender with a shovel and a backyard and I'm not afraid to use them. You get me?"

James backed off slowly. "Um...absolutely clear Katara, I won't even _dare_ to hurt her." He replied, gulping nervously.

"Relax sis, he won't try it." Lucinda giggled, standing next to James and holding his hand. "Ready?" She asked, looking at him. He gave a nod.

"Once you leave, me and Sokka will be accompanying Aang to the Northern Air Temple, he believes that there are some answers hidden in his old home and we are inclined to follow him on his quest for answers." Katara said slowly, making sure that Lucinda understood what she was saying. "After which, he would then be in need of a waterbending master and so do I, and the only place where waterbenders remains are in our sister tribe all the way in the North Pole. So give us a few days before you actually decide to return, if not...don't blame me if you fall to your death when you 'appear' while we are in the air." She added, smiling slyly at the last sentence.

Lucinda pouted innocently, folding her arms. "Aw...Don't worry, I'll plan my visits accordingly. And besides, I still have school to worry about."

"Let's not forget my sister." James piped in with a frown. Everyone turned their eyes to him. "I mean...Lu, you know Sofia, even if you try to hide all of this, what we've seen and what we did here, she'll find out. She always does. And where she goes, Desmond goes." He stated. "And Candice, she's training under your tutelage, she'll find out."

Lucinda smacked her forehead. How could she forget her best friend. "I guess there is only one option. We tell them the truth." James looked at her. She sighed. "I mean, there is no sense in lying to them. Sofia is smart. Desmond has a brilliant mind. Candice is open to new ideas. If we tell them, they can lend their aid." She explained.

"You know, they'll tag along and we can't stop them."

"The more the merrier."

"Very funny Lu."

"Good luck you two." Katara said softly, giving her 'sister' a hug and a punch on James' arm before stepping back. "See you soon!" She yelled just as the two vanished in a bright blinding flash of white light before her eyes, causing her vision to blur for a moment. She shook her head to regain her sight and smiled, totally ignoring the murmurs rippling through the crowd about the might of Lucinda's power. "I have a high feeling that we finally have a fighting chance in this war now."

"What makes you say so?" Aang asked.

Katara closed her eyes, lifting a hand to touch her mother's necklace. "I just know. Call it a sisterly feeling." A smile spread across her face and she lifted up the bag that Lucinda made for her, she glanced towards her brother and Aang. "Well, what are you two boys waiting for? Get on Appa and let's start heading out!"

* * *

"Aang was right..." James muttered softly, his eyes widening at the very same sight that he had last seen before he was whisked away to the other world, he recalled staring at Lucinda who was standing near the steps of Royal Prep and he was still in the same spot. A smile formed across his face. "Do you know what this means?" He said excitedly. "If both you and Katara are in the same place, than the time in the other world would cease...In other words, your father cannot blame you if you disappear with your soldiers and return a short while later as if nothing happened at all..." Lucinda merely folded her arms and stared at him. "What?" He asked.

"Are you an idiot?" Lucinda chided as she shook her head. "How would I be able to explain if some returned with cuts and bruises or what if some don't even return at all. We're talking about war James. There is bound to be casualties on both sides, we are bound to lose men once we decide to throw our fingers into their war."

James slapped his own forehead and cursed softly. "Sorry...didn't thought of that." He mumbled.

"It's alright." Lucinda smiled and took his hand in hers. "We have chosen to help them in their war and I am not a coward to go back on my word." She took out the orb that Gretel gave her and whispered 'home' into it, the orb glowed white before the both of them were transported directly to Lucinda's private chambers. She gently placed aside the seal leather bag that Katara had given her as a 'welcome' gift into the family, she made sure that the bag will recieve the pilliar of fame whenever her friends came into her room. "Go get changed, I'll meet you in the courtyard. And bring Candice with you." James nodded and left the room. She opened her wardrobe and picked her training outfit, she braided her hair so that it would not disrupt her vision, strapping her sword to her waist and giving her clothing one last check after which she promptly left her room for the courtyard but not before summoning the captain of her guard. "Ralof, I need you to do something for me. It's really important...and highly classified, I don't want the people to get spooked out by this. I'll handle my father when the time comes, but I need to know whether I can rely on your discretion."

Ralof dropped to his knee, keeping his head bowed. "Your Highness, my blade is yours from the day I swore to serve you."

"Rise Ralof, I promise that this job will not do you nor the Kingdom any dishonor." Lucinda spoke quickly before any of the royal guards could get suspicious, when Ralof finally rose, she dragged him aside and pulled him into the nearest room. "Ralof...I know this might sound crazy. You might even think I'm crazy. But I swear to the Divines that what I am about to tell you is absolutely nothing but the real truth." She took a deep breath and recounted what transpired, from the start where her necklace glowed to the point where she said farewell to her new extended family, Ralof remained stoic all the while. She sighed as her shoulders dropped. "Their world is plunged into a war that had been going on for at least a hundred years, this Fire Nation that they are fighting is ten times much more ruthless than the barbarians you fought, an entire nation of Air Nomads was effective wiped out thanks to them killing all but one. That one boy is their last hope, but he cannot win this war for them." She sniffed back her tears as the images that Aang showed that night came flooding back into her mind, she looked up at Ralof through teary eyes. "I will not abandon those people..."

Ralof managed to crack a small grin. "I understand..." He replied. "True, it might seem a little crazy. But with all the magic that I've seen you do, I'm more incline to believe that there is more unseen knowledge in the arcane arts that we will ever know, just waiting to be discovered. And by the way, this is our barrack, you just told every single guard your intentions." He bit back a laugh at the gobsmacked expression on Lucinda's face. He gave a nod and everyone rose to attention. "Your Highness, what is that you require?"

"We need a quiet area outside the city but not too far, we don't want father getting wind of this jus-?!" Lucinda froze when she heard a familiar cough, her guards immediately fell to their knees, she gulped nervously and turned around. "Father...I can explain..." She started but was taken aback when he merely laughed. "Um...dad?"

"Hahaha...sorry, you just brought back some memories of my own childhood." Erik composed himself and bade the guards to stand. "Now what's this I hear about the Fire Nation and tribes needing help." He said in a serious tone. Lucinda lowered her gaze and retold everything. "Hmm...it appears that you need to test out your necklace first before we can actually make a move, I'll have Gretel work closely with you and if the two of you can't solve this then we'll get Goodwin the Great."

"Does this mean you're not mad?" Lucinda asked hopefully and cringed at her father's frown. _'Please not a grounding...'_ She begged mentally.

"Mad? No. I'm furious!" Erik bellowed, folding his arms and narrowing his eyes. "That my daughter would go on an adventure with her betrothed..." He paused and kept his glare as Lucinda sunk further back, fear evident within her eyes. He then pouted like a child. "Without me!" He cried.

The whole room erupted in laughter at Erik's childish antics. True, he might be a powerful King and a feared warrior on the field of battle, but his actions prove that he's still young at heart and cares about his subjects and daughter's well-being.


	6. Gathering of the Team

**Chapter Six**

 **Gathering of the Team**

"Remind me to pack an extra pair of socks the next time we go back there." James, the Crown Prince of Enchancia mumbled the moment he recovered from the familiar blindness. Lucinda bit her lips to hold back her laughter as he dragged his feet back to his room. The duo had traveled between the two worlds for quite some time now, and they had just returned from their eighth trip where Lucinda had a long 'talk' with Katara after she snapped at Aang due to her jealousy. Katara promised never to allow her jealousy to overwhelm her thoughts ever again, and she lived up to her promise and wasn't irritated as she was before when Aang managed to waterbend better than her. However, while out hunting with Sokka, James accidentally slipped and tumbled into the lake which totally explains his soaking clothes and socks. "By the way..." James popped his head back inside. "Sofia and Desmond are dropping by later, something about the invitation we sent last week, just wanna let you know that they've replied. And if you plan on venturing back to help Katara and the rest, you are on your own this time, I have some school work to do. I just hope you really know what you're doing Lu." He said before continuing on his path back.

Lucinda sighed and placed down her bag. "I hope so too." She muttered. The one important thing she discovered while traveling in between the two worlds was the fact that time seemed to pass much more faster in the other world when she's in her own, meaning a few hours in Corona could mean a few weeks for Katara. That was one of the key factors that she had to fight against. She swapped her soaked outfit for a dry one and headed towards the Great Hall, after telling her father about her promise to aid the other world, the Coronain Second Fleet begun rehearsing their tactics in naval combat, while the Royal Army begun training in taking down wizards and witches with fire spells under Gretel's watchful gaze. Though it wasn't made known to the public. The Kingdom of Corona was officially gearing up for a full-scale military invasion on another universe, this would be a war that would be led by Lucinda, this was her trial, her rite of passage. While waiting for Sofia and Desmond to arrive, Lucinda held back a snigger when Candice, her apprentice and close friend came running in, totally drenched in sweat, she forced herself to frown. "You're late." She simply said.

"Sorry...I..." Candice looked down in embarrassment as her cheeks grew redder and redder that even her words couldn't come up properly. "I...was busy!"

Lucinda choked back a laugh. "Ha, very funny Candice. It's no secret that you're trying to set your sister up with Prince Fredrick." She accused. Candice managed to look guilty for a second before snorting and clearly informing Lucinda that why would she bother with her sister's love life. "Oh...since you put it that way..." Lucinda trailed off with an evil grin. "Dorrie is at the manor with Fredrick, I have half a mind to sent a rider over there with a personal note that you were setting them up from the start. Planning behind their backs while skipping training. I wonder what would Dorrie to do you." She allowed the threat to hang in the air.

Candice raised her hands. "Alright! You caught me..." She droned in defeat as she sighed. "So what's my punishment?"

Lucinda rolled her eyes and grinned. "Punishment? You know, you ain't too old to be thrown over my knee. I figure a good spankin' might just be what you deserve for skipping training." She stated with much determination in her eyes that Candice nearly fainted from shock, she bit her bottom lips before bursting out in laughter. "I was just joking! Relax! You're way too old for it anyway." She quickly butted in. "However, there is one punishment that would fit you." She gave a devilish grin. "Continue setting them up with my ultimate support. Just don't mention my name."

Candice chuckled nervously. "Gladly..." She gave a small smile just as two familiar voices could be heard. "Looks like our guests are here."

True enough, the doors to the Great Hall swung open revealing Princess Sofia standing together with her boyfriend, Prince Desmond, the duo approached and greeted Lucinda according to royal tradition. After being done with the formalities, Lucinda and Candice led them to what was once an unused section of the castle which was now converted into a workshop for Lucinda to tinker with her necklace, the entrance to the workshop was disguised to look like an ordinary bookshelf on James' suggestion, so that no one could stumble upon it by accident. Upon entry, Sofia picked up a scroll that had the symbol representing water according to a book she read in the Kingdom of Wei-Ling during one of her family's royal visit, she studied the contents with a curious gaze. The scroll contained several wordings that she didn't understand but the sketches were clear enough for her to know what the scroll was about, it was a training scroll for those that wished to master the element. She silently turned her head and gazed at the other scrolls before zeroing on her targets, the symbols of the other three elements.

"Air. Fire. Water. Earth." Sofia recited as if she was reading it directly from a book. She raised an eyebrow. "Someone's been busy."

"How in the world did you discover that?! It took me weeks!" Lucinda whined.

Sofia folded her arms. "Reading and lots of reading. Now tell me, what's all this about." She jabbed her finger at Lucinda. "And Candice, don't think you can slip out like this."

"It's a long story." Lucinda piped up.

Desmond folded his arms. "We've got plenty of time."

Sofia nodded and glared. "So get."

* * *

Lucinda sighed in relief when she received the nod from Sofia and Desmond, after spending about an hour explaining to them what had transpired and why was it so secretive that the Kingdom of Corona was gearing up for war. Sofia promised to help research about the scrolls while Desmond gave his word that he would be there if she ever needs his help. Elated beyond measures, she extended them an invitation to join her on the next trip which would be happening in another five days time, the duo didn't see any reason to turn the offer down and accepted. Candice suggested bringing along a few armed guards considering the fact that Sofia and Desmond weren't prone to fighting though they knew a little bit of fencing and close quarter combat but other than that, nothing. Lucinda agreed readily, she wanted Sofia to journey with her to the other world so she could introduce her to Katara but she did not want any harm to befall her young friend. Sending Candice to escort Sofia and Desmond to their guest rooms, Lucinda ventured to the courtyard to find a certain captain that would jump at the first chance to see to her protection. She found her target showing some sword-fighting and disarming techniques to the various knights and soldiers, she pushed her way through the crowd and watched his performance for a little while.

"Don't let your shield wear you down!"

"Strike fast and strike true!"

"Always parry against incoming strikes and hit them back with a kick to the guts!"

"Surely you can do better!"

Lucinda shook her head in amusement as Ralof defeated knight after knight, soldier after soldier. No matter who came at him, in heavy or light armor, they all met the same fate. The dirt on the ground. "Captain Ralof! A moment of your time if you will!" She called from her spot. Ralof gave a curt nod as he pulled a knight he bested to his feet and gave the lad a pat on the back before sheathing his sword, he wiped the sweat and dirt from his face before approaching the front row. Lucinda smiled and beckoned him to follow, which he did. "Something tells me that I'm needed in the other world and James isn't able to join me this time so I need six able-bodied men, capable of firing bows from trees and fighting in close combat. Their accuracy must be straight. I have a high feeling that I'm going to need them later, and I also need your sword." Ralof blinked in surprise. "Yes Ralof, I suppose it is time that you see this other world for yourself. Maybe I'll let Sokka brief you a little about the Fire Nation, help you understand a little bit more about the enemy that we are sure going to face." She said and smiled when the old captain smirked.

"Understood," Ralof nodded his head. "I will gather the best men I can find." He gave a swift bow and left to round up the men.

Lucinda wasn't really that surprised to find Candice waiting for her inside the workshop, the young girl was already garbed in outdoor clothing instead of her usual robes, a bow along with a quiver of arrows was strapped to her back and her hair was tied to a pony-tail. Ralof was true to his word and managed to round up six of the best archers and swordsmen from her personal guards, she was grateful as she knew them personally and it would make it much more easier to give them commands. "Alright, everyone stand in one straight line and make sure that your hand is connected to my shoulder, if you aren't holding tightly enough than I'm afraid that you'll be left behind until we return. I sincerely apologize for this method of transportation, but rest assured, the fairies and Gretel are working tirelessly to create a platform that would make transportation much more easier than now." She spoke aloud, everyone nodded and moved to stand behind her, she felt several hands gripping her shoulder tightly that she winced in pain.

"Hang on. Didn't you invite Princess Sofia and Prince Desmond along for the ride?" Candice spoke.

Lucinda sighed and felt like banging her head on the table. "This is an emergency. My guts tell me that we need to go today." Candice nodded in acknowledgement.

 _'Alright, let's do this.'_ She said to herself and reached up to touch her necklace.

* * *

Katara blinked her eyes twice just to make sure she wasn't imagining things, her 'sister' in all but blood appearing before her accompanied by a slightly younger girl about Aang's biological age, and seven strong-abled warriors bearing weapons and armor that she had never seen before in her entire life. She shook her head to clear her thoughts and greeted Lucinda as she always has, a warm embrace. They parted from each other with a smile. Sokka was fairly disappointed that James didn't turn up as he was looking forward to training his sword arm with the prince, but his eyes went huge when he saw the seven warriors standing behind Lucinda. Katara rolled her eyes at her older brother's antics and decided to introduce a member of her tribe, but not just any member, but a warrior serving under her father but was wounded during a battle that the other warriors were forced to leave him behind.

"Lucinda, this is Bato, he's one of the men from our tribe." She said, gesturing her hand to the older gentlemen with bandages around his chest. The man now known as Bato bowed his head slightly, still confused at what was going on. "Bato, this is Lucinda, my sister in all but blood. And before you say anything rude, she's royalty."

"Oh come now, my titles mean nothing in this world." Lucinda groaned childishly. Katara responded by sticking her tongue out at her. She ignored her sister and dipped her head slightly out of respect for the Southern Water Tribe warrior. She grinned before shoving the young girl forward. "Katara, Sokka, allow me to introduce you to Candice Cooper, my one and only apprentice and the youngest ever to serve in the Kingdom of Corona. A word of warning, don't judge her by her mere age. You will find an arrow pointed towards your face before you could even reach your sword, believe me, she tried that on James once." Candice grumbled something inaudible but greeted the two water tribe siblings politely. "And finally, these are the brave men of my own guards. It's not everyone of course, I couldn't possibly bring three hundred knights with me all at once, now can I? But back to the point. It is time for our plan to be set in motion," She gave a smirk at Sokka's grin and Katara's wide eyes. "But before we can actually lay our plans out, I need to know something. And it's very important." She folded her arms and narrowed her eyes. "Where is Aang?"

"Aang?" Katara glanced around the tent and took note that her friend wasn't around. "That's weird. I could have sworn he was sitting here."

"Maybe he felt left out?" Candice said with a pointed look. Several eyes snapped to her. "I mean, come on, there are three water tribe members in here and he's the only airbender if I recall correctly. And judging from the way you three were talking just now, I would feel completely left off too." She explained.

Katara gasped and covered her mouth. "Oh for the love of-?!" She groaned and pushed her way past Lucinda. "AANG! Where are you?" She cried, but the airbender was no where to be found. "This is all my fault! I should have paid attention to him! I should have-!" Her words were cut off by Lucinda's firm hand over her mouth.

"There's no use crying over spilled milk." Lucinda stated firmly, her eyes boring into Katara. "What we can do now is to search for him. Knowing him, he won't be far." She released her hand from Katara's mouth and turned around to face her men. "Alright boys, we have a job to do. Aang is missing and it is our job to find him. You will recognize him by his blue arrow tattoos and his monk robes that looks exactly like the monks from Wei-Ling, he carries a staff with him at all times and may be accompanied by his pet lemur." If Sokka wasn't convinced that she could lead, now he was. The warriors, no, her guards were listening to her with a sense of respect and loyalty that any leader would kill to recieve from their men. He stepped forward and gave his sister a firm nod, he had already made up his mind, helping Aang is his first priority. "My vision tells me that he's at the beach, but I'm not really sure where. Split yourselves into two. Ralof, you'll come with me. Candice, go with Sokka." She ordered.

"I'm coming with you!" Katara stated her intentions with fierce determination.

"I'll take Appa and fly around the beach, hopefully we can spot him." Sokka said, already heading for the bison.

"Good idea." Candice said, already climbing up the massive beast. "So how do you fly this bison?"

"Simple." Sokka replied with a lopsided grin much to Katara's dismay. "Appa, yip yip!" And the massive bison took to the skies.

* * *

Lucinda lifted her hand to stop Ralof and Katara from advancing, there was something approaching them and it was fast. "Something's coming." She said softly, Ralof reached for the pommel of his sword, Katara took on a defensive stance. She enhanced her sight and saw a cloud of smoke approaching their location, she could make up a massive beast sniffing out their scent while a sinister woman sat upon its back with a whip in hand. Behind the woman sat the same teenager that she threatened all those days ago, she silently motioned for Ralof to recall the men and Katara to hit the ground. Taking a deep breath, she slowly lifted her hand and the very ground before her gave way, she dug a deep pit and filled the top with leaves and fallen branches, she heard the rustles above her head and glanced up. Six dark figures could be seen above the trees with arrows nocked and ready to fire on her command, she smiled and signaled Katara to stand in front of her. "Don't worry. You're well protected by six of the best archers, they never miss their mark." Katara glanced up. "Don't give eye contact! You'll ruin the surprise for that scarred teenager."

"Zuko." Katara spat the name out. "No doubt he's here to capture Aang."

"Let him try." Lucinda replied and folded her arms. "You have the element of surprise. My men await your orders." She heard the ground rumble as a massive beast appeared over the horizon. "Taunt him." She whispered.

Katara grinned devilishly. "Hey! Looking for the Avatar?" She hollered as loudly as she could. "Oh...I happen to know where he is." She taunted, and smirked when Zuko fell for the trap and the beast took one step forward, hence falling into the pit below. She approached the edge and looked down. "That's for attempting to kill us!" She gasped in mock surprise when Zuko gave a loud growl before leaping out of the pit, only to hear the drawing of bow strings. "FIRE!" She cried. Six arrows swirled through the air and struck the ground, a few inches away from Zuko's feet, he gasped and looked up. Taking matters into her own hand, she removed the lid of a bottle that she always carried and hurled the water towards Zuko, completely encasing him in ice. "That should hold you right down..." She whirled around and rushed off, she clapped her hands and the six figures leaped down from above. "Thanks for your help." She bowed her head.

"Should we finish him, milady?" One of the figures asked, drawing his blade.

Katara shook her head. "No...We're not monsters" The figures stood down and stepped back into the shadows. "But I didn't say that I can't do this!" She drew back a fist and hurled a hard punch. CRACK! The sound of a nose being broken could be heard echoing throughout the trees. "And this!" She hurled another punch, completely knocking Zuko out cold.

"Ouch..." Lucinda winced the moment Zuko was knocked out.

Ralof was impressed. "She's good. Reminds me of the late Queen Rapunzel when she was younger." He commented. Lucinda gaped at him, she couldn't believe Rapunzel out of everybody would react to violence. "Oh, His Grace never told you? Remind me to take you to the royal vault once we return, you'll know when you see it."

Katara cracked her knuckles and noticed Lucinda staring at her. "What? He deserves those two punches for the sleepless nights he caused, now that he's out cold and frozen in ice, it'll give us a head start when we leave tomorrow morning." She said before pointing towards the beach. "And now to find Aang!"

And that was exactly what they did, but it turned out that Sokka and Candice were already one step ahead of them. Katara immediately went to protective mode when she saw the sad expression on Aang's face and Sokka's pleading eyes for her to take over, she placed a comforting hand on the airbender's shoulder and smiled. Aang sniffed and wiped away his tears, and slowly lifted his head. "I...I'm sorry Katara..." She was confused at his apology and looked at her brother for an explanation. Sokka sighed and pulled out a crumpled parchment and handed it over, she read the contents and realized that it was a map to the rendezvous point leading to her father and the rest of the men. Candice slowly explained that they caught Aang trying to dispose the parchment. She stared at the map hard enough and tossed it aside, surprising everyone.

"As much as I want to see dad, I just can't." She said softly, lowering her gaze. "My duty is to get you to the North Pole and find you a waterbending master, and I will not leave your side until it is done. And even after that, I will still accompany you. You want to know why, Aang?" She asked. Aang nodded weakly. "Because I need you."

"And you need us." Sokka finished for her. "Dad would understand..."

Katara nodded and Aang managed to smile. "Thank you Lucinda, if you weren't here..." She said before being interrupted.

"Woah! Hold it there sis!" Lucinda piped in fiercely. "It was Candice that told you about Aang's feelings. It is her that you should thank. Not me."

Candice held up her hand. "Hey, don't thank me. I'm just doing my job." She stated before growing serious. "Now that the gang is back together, I suppose it is high time we lay our plans for the invasion." Everyone nodded their heads and huddled close. "First things first, we need a map of the Fire Nation. Everything. From their ports to their royal palace..." Her eyes narrowed. "...believe me when I say that the Fire Nation is about to get a taste of their own medicine." She opened her palm as a small flame appeared out of thin air. "Let them fight fire with fire." She finished just as Bato approached them with a curious expression.

Lucinda lifted her head to face the water tribe warrior. "As what James had told Sokka and Aang, and what I told Katara, my father has given me the permission to aid the Southern Water Tribe in this war. And that means, I have the full command of the military force..." She shot a sly grin. "...which means, the Southern Water Tribe is about to get ten thousand veteran knights as their reinforcements, and a naval fleet with at least two hundred ships." She smiled even brighter at Bato's wide eyes. She summoned the map that Katara tossed aside and handed it over the warrior. "Here, take this map with you and find your comrades. But, I beg you not to reveal anything you are about to hear today until the time is right." She looked at Katara and Sokka, the two nodded their heads in agreement. Bato conceded and gave a nod. "Good, that's all I ask. I understand that Aang needs a waterbending teacher, but what about his other elements? Earth and Fire?" She inquired.

"We haven't thought about that..." Katara admitted with a guilty expression. "I suppose we'll have to travel to the Earth Kingdom to find a mentor."

"What about fire?" Candice asked, her eyebrows furrowing in thought. "If I recall correctly, you aren't really at 'friendly' terms with the Fire Nation."

"That doesn't mean they can't find a friendly teacher. I'm sure there is at least one guy who isn't bad." Lucinda retorted. "Have you forgotten William? He was a Southern knight and now where is he. A member of the city watch in good standing. He has never once gave my father a chance to distrust him. He even fought on our side. And what about Rodrik? Amy? Kurt? All of them chose to switch sides."

Candice lowered her head. "Sorry...I forgot about them." Her cheeks blushing slightly. She noticed the mischievous look in Lucinda's eyes. "No! NO! I am not in love with Rodrik!" She protested. Ralof raised a single eyebrow while Katara and Aang laughed. Sokka muttered something about oogies. Lucinda ignored her protest and wagged her eyebrow seductively until she gave up and admitted sourly. "Alright! Fine! I have a huge crush on him! I mean, who wouldn't!" She growled and folded her arms.

"I don't mean to bring back bad memories but you do have the waterbending scroll..." Lucinda quickly changed the subject. Katara looked guilty as Aang took her hand in his. She cursed herself for bringing up that incident that nearly caused a rift between Aang and Katara. But then, her eyes snapped open. "I got it!" She cried. "Why not I transport you three over to my world? Time would cease here, the Fire Nation won't gain anything but you'll be able to hone your skills and learn combat skills from the best trainers in the entire continent!" She suggested. Katara and Aang readily agreed with Sokka nodding in agreement. Who could blame them. A chance to see a world much more advanced than theirs. Lucinda smiled and looked at Bato. "You can come as well. You can represent the Southern Water Tribe while you're there. I'm sure father and his generals would love to discuss invasion plans with you, that's if you are willing."

"I am deeply honored by this invitation." Bato bowed his head.

"Great!" Lucinda beamed up and instructed everyone to stand behind her and hold her shoulder firmly. "If anyone gets left behind, it's not my fault!"

"Holding on!" Katara yelled back, excitement in her voice at getting to see her sister's world.

* * *

Lucinda held back a giggle the moment she heard the gasps of surprise behind her, she dismissed her guards and threw off her traveling cloak and dispatched Candice to run ahead to find her father and the other high lords. "Come on, I'll show you around." She signaled Katara and the rest to follow, which they did with mouths agape and eyes as huge as saucers. Servants bowed swiftly as Lucinda led her friends on a tour of the castle, soldiers snapped to attention the moment she passed by their posts easily causing Sokka to gape in amazement. James met them midway and quickly fell in step with Sokka, stirring up conversations about the Coronain military might. Lucinda showed them the library where most of their books and tomes of ancient knowledge were stored, Katara humbly requested for permission to browse the books at a later date which she agreed to. She then took them to the Great Hall where the throne of her father stood in all its glory, knights in full armor stood vigil over the throne despite the fact that it was totally empty. She smirked evilly as she purposely took them pass a huge window that showed a massive field of grass, she heard the heavy footfalls and the familiar horse hooves and purposely stopped to chat with a nearby servant causing her guests to turn towards the sound. She giggled softly at Sokka's drooling face and Katara's wide eyes, Aang was practically planting his face on the window to get a better look, Bato gaped like a fish out of water.

James chuckled and shook his head. "You stopped on purpose didn't you?" He accused. Lucinda shrugged innocently. He rolled his eyes at her response and decided to act more fuel into the fire. "What you're looking at is merely a portion of the royal army, the others are camped out in the valley beyond those mountains."

"What?!" Sokka spluttered out in shock.

"One question. How many men are there on the field as of this moment?" Katara inquired softly.

Lucinda enhanced her vision and scoured for the company's banner and grinned sheepishly. "Ten thousand and fifty-two knights with horses and men-at-arms. Six thousand archers and crossbowmen. Three vassal lords. Our royal sorceress Gretel and her brother, Hansel. And two of our friends, Sofia and Desmond." She answered sweetly. "I'm not surprised to find the two of them there, poor Desmond must have been dragged to the field under Sofia's insistence to see the knights."

James threw his head back in laughter. "That's my little sister! Always rushing in to discover things, and now Desmond has joined her."

Any further discussions were halted by Candice returning with the words. "Princess Lucinda, His Majesty the King awaits us in the war room, several of the generals have already been told of your return and are assembling there as we speak." Candice only calls Lucinda by her proper title in the presence of guards, despite Lucinda's constant pleas to get her to stop. She shuddered slightly after speaking, she leaned in closer. "Heard that Lord Ulfric of the Northern Isles is here as well." Lucinda paled and quickened her pace causing both Katara and Bato to keep up with her speed, leaving behind Aang and Sokka in a trail of invisible smoke.

"Best not keep him waiting." James stated firmly as he yanked Aang and Sokka away from the window much to the boys' protest. "Trust me when I say that Lord Ulfric is a man that holds his honor as dearly as he holds his own gods, but his temper is one to behold." The two boys paled at his warning. "Just keep your mouths shut and try not to interrupt him in any way and you'll do fine. Believe me, seeing him blowing his top once is more than enough for me." He whispered as they arrived at the giant doors leading into the war room where several knights stood guard. The knights parted the moment they spotted their liege lord's daughter and the giant doors were pushed open revealing a vast detailed hand-drawn map with several chess pieces, the King of Corona hovered above the map with Lord Ulfric of the Northern Isles beside him, arrayed to their left and right were the generals of the Coronain military.

"Father. Generals." Lucinda greeted with a curtsy. "Lord Ulfric, we are truly honored by your presence here." She stated confidently towards the Northman.

"The honor is mine, Your Highness." Ulfric replied gruffly. "My men are ready to do our part. You just have to say the word."

Lucinda smiled briefly. "All we have to do now is await the news from the fairies, once they deliver the focusing crystal, I can channel my powers accordingly and transport a large amount of troops to aid the other world in their war." She said grimly. "I was hoping to end their war without bloodshed but after a few trips to the other universe and scouting out the various villages under the occupation of Fire Nation troops. To sum it up, I was left utterly disgusted with the atrocities committed on the innocent populace by the Fire Nation soldiers, the longer I watched, the more I wanted to barge down there and slaughter their entire garrison to the last man but what can one witch do against an army. But that didn't stop me from causing a massive rainstorm that flooded their corps, and I might have 'accidentally' drowned a few of them." Ulfric gave a grunt of approval at her words. "James, lay out the plans." She snapped her fingers.

"On it." James replied, reaching into his robes and pulling out a folded map. He laid out the map on the table. "I 'borrowed' this from a Fire Nation encampment while Lucinda was keeping you three busy." Katara's accusing glare increased ten fold. He smirked at the water bender. "It's not as if they needed this map anyway, they fled their camp the moment their crops went up in flames." He waved off Sokka's gaping mouth and slammed a dagger onto the Fire Nation capital city. "The Fire Nation capital city rests on a hillside facing the sea, the terrain is rough but its nothing our men can't handle. Their Fire Lord resides in the very heart of that city with at least a few thousand fire benders and non benders guarding every section of the city, there are at least three entrances into the palace district from what I could decipher. One is by sea. Another by land. And the last via a hidden underground passage."

"Hmm...an attack on all three fronts could cripple their defenses and lower their morale." Erik pointed out, placing a chess piece on all three entrances. "Our navy could launch a barrage on their outer defenses, rendering them defenseless against a full invasion force." He turned to his daughter. "And your forces could sweep down the streets and capture the outer gate, allowing our allies to rush in to clear out their defenders." Lucinda nodded her head in agreement.

"A diversion." Ulfric noted with a hint of approval in his eyes. "Give them something to face on while another force sneaks past their lines."

"And destroy them from the inside, forcing them to have no choice but to surrender or face destruction." Lucinda gave an evil smirk. "I like that."

Katara pursed her lips in thought before voicing her opinion. "If we could rally the Earth Kingdom to our side, they can help by creating a massive wall made out of dirt thus allowing our allied forces to press forward without being hindered by Fire Nation catapults." Her heart raced faster when all eyes turned to her. She took a single chess piece and placed it at the gates of the Fire Nation capital. "But that's only if we can convince the Earth King to ally his army with ours."

"That's a fine idea." James commented. "But in the mean time, I suggest you remain here and hone your skills."

"That was our plan all along." Lucinda piped in.

"Now that's settled, I think its time you introduce me to your friends." Erik said with a gentle smile. "I need to know our allies better if I am to help them."

Lucinda rolled her eyes and gestured her arm towards her friends. "Father. This is Katara, my 'sister' in all but blood. And this is her brother, Sokka." The two water tribe teens bowed their heads in respect, Erik returned the gesture with his own bow. "And this is Aang, the last of his kind. He is the beacon of hope in their universe, a light in the darkness like you." The air bender gave a customary air nomad greeting, Erik smiled and nodded curtly. "And lastly, this is Bato, he is here representing the chief of the Southern Water Tribe. The very tribe that we are helping." Bato inclined his head in greeting.

"I trust you'll enjoy your stay in our castle." Erik stated with a warm smile. A loud 'Boom!' followed shortly by another shook the very foundations of the castle startling the guests but causing the others including James and Lucinda to laugh at their frightened expression, the King of Corona chucked softly in amusement. "That was the sound of a cannon firing, our men are getting better acquainted with their new destructive weapon thus the sound. Lucinda, you should be proud that our royal engineers have successfully mounted cannons above the ramparts of the wall per your advice, we now have twenty-eight cannons facing the sea and nineteen facing inland. If the Southern Isles truly do attack us here, they'll have another thing coming." He explained and laughed at Lucinda's gobsmacked expression. But then, his expression grew serious. "I suppose you want to know the outcome of our war with the Southern Isles. I have news...but I wouldn't call them good."

"Yes, I do." Lucinda stood a little straighter. "We're at war father...people are expected...to die." She cringed at using the last word.

"The invasion is going on smoothly, our forces have occupied several of their villages and small hamlets while our northern brothers captured several forts and keeps along the eastern shore. We faced bitter resistance en route to the capital city, the Southerners gave everything in their defense of their capital, when they ran out of stones for their catapults, they started loading their dead and launching the corpses over the walls." Erik stated solemnly. Lucinda relaxed a little when James stood beside her. Katara and the rest were stunned to silence, not even the Fire Nation would swoop so low as to use their own dead. "When our soldiers finally arrived at their gates, they barely had time to set up a foraging party when a shower of arrows rained down from the heavens upon the field. In five minutes flat, three thousand knights and soldiers lay dead on the field with several hundred more wounded, our forces had no other choice but to withdraw from the front. Sir Gavin was one of the few that fell...I understand that he was your trainer...thought you needed to know."

Lucinda blinked as her vision blurred due to the tears streaming down her cheeks. Gavin. Her personal trainer in both swordsman and marksmanship before Hansel took over was dead, killed by Southern arrows. "I should have been there. My magic could have saved him! I could have saved them all! They needn't have to die! I will not hide, behind a wall of stone and cannons while others fight OUR BATTLES FOR US!" She roared. "It is not in my blood father..." She sank to her knees and sobbed uncontrollably, James knelt by her side stroking her back soothingly while whispering softly in her ear, Erik closed his eyes at his daughter's reaction to the death of her mentor and cursed himself for dispatching the young knight out, he had expected a mournful reaction but not something like this. Seeing his daughter crying her lungs out made his heart feel as if someone had stabbed him, the whole feeling of his parents' death came rushing back. Katara reacted instantly and knelt by Lucinda, taking her hand in hers and joined the Princess in mourning. Candice did not know who Gavin was or how important the knight was to Lucinda, but even she felt the stinging pain in her heart at the news of his passing. "No parent should ever bury their child." She sniffed quietly. "He was barely in his twenties...And what about Lucy? He was engaged to her..."

"The quicker this war ends, the better it would be." James spoke softly, his voice barely above a whisper. "There was this one knight in particular...Robb was his name. I've been in Corona long enough that I've watched him go from a greenhorn recruit to a fully-pledged knight. Every day, after his training, he'll come find me and we'll talk about...well, basically everything. Sometimes for hours. I remember the day he received his knighthood. He ran to find me after that and handed me his family medallion." He slowly pulled out the said medallion from within his coat. "I told him to keep it, but he insisted. He said I was his friend...felt he owed it to me for keeping him sane throughout his days as a squire. Then...some bandits were harassing a nearby village under the Kingdom's protection, he rode out with a couple of other men-at-arms to protect the people. He fell, but the battle was won." He held the medallion close before looking at Lucinda. "I don't really know why I'm telling you all of this. It's not even your burden to bare to begin with. I guess I just wanted to show you that there's two sides to every victory. Those who live to revel in it, and those who died making it happen. He left behind a widow, who didn't had a chance to tell him that she was pregnant with their first born."

"I'm so sorry James...I didn't know you were holding this inside all this while." Lucinda apologized for her rage earlier. "It's just so sudden..."

James nodded slowly. "As knights, they knew the risks they were placing upon themselves by answering the call to arms. We swore an oath before the King and his court that we would willingly die by the sword for our Kingdom, that was our oath." He smiled sadly and pulled Lucinda close. "It's an occupational hazard. If we don't defend our loved ones? Who will?" His final question tore through Lucinda's heart, causing her to realize the importance of the military and why some sacrifices had to be made.

"Thank you James...for making me realize.." Lucinda sniffed and stood a little taller when a squire came running in.

"Forgive me sire, Your Highness. But the ship carrying our fallen from the beach landing has returned." Reported the young squire.

"Have the bodies prepped in the courtyard and have our scribes deliver the news to their next-of-kin." Lucinda ordered.

"By your command, Your Highness."

* * *

The atmosphere was solemn in the courtyard of the Coronain castle, the bulk of the military was present with black arm bands draped around their arms and their banners were dipped at half-mast out of respect. The people were gathered at the entrance of the castle, each holding onto a candle with similar arm bands around their arms. Parents and families of the fallen soldiers were invited into the courtyard where a space had been allocated for them, many were elderly folks while there were some widows with young children. Princess Sofia was draped from head to toe in black as she hugged the arm of Prince Desmond, the duo attended on behalf of their Kingdom and to show morale support for their friend. The King of Corona stood at the head of the army, his generals and royal court arrayed to his left and right, his head was lowered as he allowed his daughter to take charge of the memorial service. Lucinda stood at the podium where numerous cots containing the slain knights and soldiers laid at her feet, James stood at her side with his hands tightly wrapped around hers. Katara along with Aang and Sokka stood a little to the left with Candice and Bato in solemn silence.

"Sir Gavin would have wanted us to celebrate..." Lucinda mumbled. "He doesn't like to see us feeling sad. There is that one song he liked..."

James held her hand tightly. "Whatever you choose. Know that I'm with you." He promised.

Lucinda took one step forward and started humming a tune. A tune which was then picked up by James.

 _You're sweet ( **you're sweet** ) as a honeybee _  
_But like a honeybee stings_  
 _You've gone and left my heart in pain_  
 _All you left ( **all you left** ) is our favorite song _  
_The one we danced to all night long_  
 _It used to bring sweet memories ( **Sweet memories** )_  
 _Of a tender love that used to be_

 _Now it's the same old song_  
 _But with a different meaning since you been gone_  
 _It's the same old song_  
 _But with a different meaning ( **Since you been gone** )_  
 _And it breaks me up to hear it_

 _Ah, oh, ah, sentimental fool am I ( **Sweet memories** )_  
 _To hear a old love song and want to cry_  
 _But the melody keeps haunting me_  
 _Reminding me how in love we used to be_  
 _Keep hearing the part that used to touch our hearts_  
 _Staying ( **Together forever** )_  
 _Darling ( **Breaking up never** )_

 _( **Now it's the same old song** ) Can't bear to hear it _  
_( **With a different meaning since you been gone** )_  
 _Oh, it hurts to hear it_  
 _It's the same old song_  
 _But with a different meaning since you been gone_

 _Precious memories keep a-lingering on_  
 _Every time I hear our favorite song_  
 _Now you've gone_  
 _Left this emptiness_  
 _I only reminisce the happiness we spent_  
 _We used to dance to the music ( **We used to dance to the music** )_  
 _Make romance to the music ( **Make romance to the music** )_

 _Now it's the same old song_  
 _But with a different meaning since you been gone_  
 _Now it's the same old song_  
 _But with a different meaning since you been gone_  
 _I, oh, I can't bear to hear it_  
 _It's the same old song_  
 _( **But with a different meaning since you been gone** )_  
 _Ooh, it breaks me up to hear it_  
 _It's the same old song_  
 _But with a different meaning since you been gone_

As the music and song died down, Lucinda held her head high and spoke up. "Let us forever remember those who gave their lives for our Kingdom, those that died for the glory of our Kingdom. They came to us from east and west, north and south, they were farmers, husbands and fathers, and sons of Corona. And we will care for them as they enter the earth, Coronain earth, and their stories will live on in the hearts of their children." She lifted up her right hand and brought it over her heart as the military band started stringing up a grim and solemn tune, she watched as the families and friends of the fallen approached and laid wreaths upon the grave of their dearly departed. She looked towards her captain of the guard and nodded once.

Ralof returned the gesture and raised his hand to his chest. "SOLDIERS SALUTE!" All knights and men-at-arms with blue cloaks answered the call for salute.

Katara glanced to her left and watched as the ships in the bay moved into a single line, their sails lowered before firing their broadside cannons until their ammunition was depleted, the sound was deafening and even more louder than a war horn from her tribe. She soon learned that the cannon firing was a military honor reserved for the highest of nobility or those holding the rank of general, but upon Lucinda's insistence, the 21-gun salute was carried out every single time a fallen knight was returned and laid to rest in the crypts beneath the castle courtyard. She watched in silence as the bodies were lowered to the crypts and couldn't help but shed a tear at the ceremony, true, she had seen and attended many of her people's funerals but none of them were as grand as this. Funerals in her tribe was a private affair and it was mainly held away from public's eye, yet here she was, watching as high ranking officials interacted with the families and relatives of the fallen and soldiers saluting the widows and parents who had lost their husband and son.

"Katara, are you...alright?" Aang asked with concern.

The waterbender wiped her tears and smiled sadly. "I'm fine Aang." Her eyes continued trailing the masses until they rested on a young child receiving a folded flag from one of the soldiers, she watched silently as the soldier saluted when the child held the flag to his heart and returned the salute with much determination that would put most of her own people's behavior to shame. She waved off her brother's concerns and walked towards Lucinda while biting her lips in thought, the Crown Princess of Corona embraced a sobbing elderly man before looking at her. "Lucinda..." She took a deep breath and stared directly into her sister's eyes. "Do you have a place for us to train? I can help Aang with his water bending skills and some of your soldiers can teach us how to use a sword properly, and not swing it around like my brother."

"Certainly." Lucinda replied and turned to Candice. "Do you mind showing our friends to the training room." Candice nodded. "I'll join you once I'm done here."

"Take all the time you need." Katara said softly.

Lucinda smiled and accepted Katara's open arms before parting, after which she turned away from the scene happening before her and opted for the castle battlements overlooking the sea. Knights and other soldiers dipped their heads in respect as she went past them, walking faster than usual. She allowed her tears to reign freely down her cheeks as she watched the naval ships sailing back into the bay after demonstrating their traditional gun salute that she had insisted on during her first royal meeting, memories of the young knight that first taught her how to wield a blade came flashing through her eyes, she remembered his joyful laugh when she fell, his stern voice when she threw her sword down in anger. Out of anger and the sense of loss, she drew out her sword from its scabbard and started swinging it against the wall, she hit it once and again and again and again. Magic energy crackled and rippled through the air with each hit. And she would have lost control of her powers if it wasn't for James' quick arrival.

"Lu. It's alright. It's alright. I'm here." James said soothingly, pulling her into an embrace.

"I'll kill them!" Lucinda spat coldly as James hugged her tightly. "I'll kill them all!" James stroked her hair slowly. "Every single last one of them!"

"Lu, they might have killed a few brave men. But they haven't met our real host. Once our main force arrives in the Southern Isles..." James lifted his head to look out into the bay and his eyes narrowed, if anyone who stood close enough might even say that the innocent prince from Enchancia wasn't that innocent anymore. The look of hatred and anguish burned brightly behind his eyes, if Lucinda felt his anger, she didn't stop him. "...then we'll kill them all."

* * *

 **A/N:** **Sorry for the long wait. I had many things going on since my graduation date is coming and there are lots of stuff to do before I could really get back into writing my fanfics. The song that Lucinda and James sang is by Four Tops - It's the Same Old Song. If you're wondering, James sings in bold. In the next chapter, Lucinda helps Candice overcome her fears by asking Rodrik out for a date.**


End file.
